5
Credit: LucasfilmDaisy Ridley just confirmed some bad news regarding Rey’s highly anticipated return in a standalone project set after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
First announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023, Ridley’s planned return is said to follow Rey Skywalker in a new theatrical adventure set approximately 15 years after the fall of the Final Order. The project has been described as the start of a new chapter, with Rey attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order.
While Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is still attached as a director, the project has cycled through several screenwriters since its announcement. Lucasfilm has also gone suspiciously quiet on the announcement front, with outgoing president Kathleen Kennedy omitting any mentions of the project during a recent roundup of status updates for Deadline.
This has left some fans convinced that the film will join the long list of announced Star Wars projects that never came to fruition.
Daisy Ridley Provides Disappointing (But Unsurprising) Update on Rey Film
Ridley herself has provided the most recent updates.
In December, Ridley told IGN the long wait would be worth it, citing the “incredible” creative minds behind the project. She acknowledged filmmaking’s complexity and numerous hurdles, but stressed the movie hasn’t been abandoned, expressing confidence that fans will ultimately be glad they waited.
USA Today has now shared another update from Ridley regarding the film – and it confirms fan fears that we’re still a long way off seeing Rey back on the big screen.
When asked if we could receive news on the project in 2026, Ridley offered a disappointing “maybe.”
The British actress went on to add, “I don’t know about 2026. In the future, sometime, yeah.”
Why Does Lucasfilm Keep Delaying the Project?
Lucasfilm has a habit of leaving announced films in limbo. Projects led by the likes of Rian Johnson, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and Taika Waititi have all faded into relative obscurity (although Kennedy did confirm in her Deadline interview that a script exists for the latter).
It also doesn’t help that the studio is in the midst of a huge transitional period. Not only did it spend years taking a hiatus from big screen projects after The Rise of Skywalker, but it’s also ushering in a new era overseen by co-presidents Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan.
Some fans have theorized that the delays stem from Disney’s decision to axe The Hunt for Ben Solo.
Kylo Ren/Ben Solo actor Adam Driver confirmed the existence of the project last year, revealing that Disney CEO Bob Iger ultimately shot down the script over concerns of how Ben Solo survived Rise of Skywalker. Fans did not react well to the news of the project’s cancellation, calling for Iger to reverse the decision and #SaveBenSolo.
A certain portion of the fandom remains convinced that Rey’s film has faced developmental issues because it was supposed to tie into The Hunt for Ben Solo. The two characters were inextricably linked in the sequel trilogy, with The Rise of Skywalker revealing that the pair were a dyad in the Force, and Ben Solo ultimately sacrificing his life to bring Rey back from the dead.
Ridley herself has confirmed knowledge of The Hunt for Ben Solo. “I knew a piece of it,” Ridley told IGN. “I heard rumblings. I have lots of friends who are crew, so things always travel like that. But, whoa! When the story came out, no, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And it was him that said it, right? It was funny because, like, ‘Oh, wow, Adam is saying it,’ and that’s the big surprise of the year.”
Whether or not Lucasfilm will rework Rey’s standalone project to incorporate elements of The Hunt for Ben Solo remains to be seen. However, in the wake of the fandom’s passionate response to news of the latter film’s existence, The Hollywood Reporter recently predicted that the studio will create “a sequel-sequel trilogy.”
One thing we do know is that Ridley will not return in the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter. While some believed Rey could pop up in the Shawn Levy-directed feature, writer Jonathan Tropper recently confirmed to Comic Book that the film will “have no legacy characters” in it.
In other words, it’s time for fans to get back to manifesting Reylo: The Movie.
What would you like to see from Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars return?