Everything we know about Daisy Ridley's new Star Wars movie

At Star Wars Celebration 2023 Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced three new Star Wars movies, one of which will see the return of Rey Skywalker, played by Daisy Ridley.

The franchise has been focused on the small screen in since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, with all eyes of shows like The Mandalorian, Andor, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Now however, fans can cast their eyes to the future with a bit more clarity on where the cinematic side of Star Wars is heading.

Read more: Every Star Wars movie and show currently in development

But now the film has been announced, what will it be about? And when might we be seeing it? Here’s everything you need to know about Daisy Ridley’s return to Star Wars.

When could it be released?

An official release date for Rey's return has not been announced yet, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise given the recent upheaval behind the scenes, with Damon Lindelof leaving the project and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight stepping in to work on the script.

While no release date was offered, speaking exclusively to Yahoo UK, Kennedy did point out that the script was close to being finished, saying, “We’ve just got to a point now where we’ve got a wonderful writer in Steven Knight, he’s come on board and we’re going to see a script probably in the next month and a half that we’ve been working on for quite a while. So we’re getting close.”

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It's rumoured to be the most likely Star Wars movie to hit the big screen next, with Disney having staked a claim to a December 2025 release date for an untitled Star Wars film.

What is the plot?

The story will take place 15 years after the events of Episode IX as Rey Skywalker attempts to build and train a New Jedi Order.

Speaking to IGN at Star Wars Celebration, Kennedy said, “Well we’re 15 years out from Rise of Skywalker, so we’re post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray.

"There’s a lot of discussion around, ‘Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy?’ She (Rey) is attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that’s where we’re going.”

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The New Jedi Order is uncharted territory for the existing canon of Star Wars under the Disney banner, but it does have significant roots in the now de-canonised Expanded Universe books.

Published between 1999 and 2003, the books follow Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Order, along with the New Republic, as they fight off the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong – a race of nomadic aliens seeking to take over the galaxy.

Whether the upcoming film takes any story beats from these books or opts for a wholly original story remains to be seen.

Speaking about her decision to return to the role, Ridley told Variety in January 2024 that the story was what convinced her to dust off her lightsaber following a conversation with the movie's director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. "No spoilers, but [Obaid-Chinoy] gave me a rundown of the entire story. If it weren’t amazing, I would have been like, “OK, call me in five years.” But it’s worthwhile.

Empire caught up with Ridley in April 2024, where she doubled down on her decision to return to the franchise to find Rey later in life. “I suppose I feel more like I’m owning it. I suppose I owned it the first time. Basically, I’m an adult now,” she told the magazine. “I certainly did not feel like an adult at the time. Obviously, personally, things have changed, and professionally, I’ve had lots of other experiences, and so I definitely feel like it’s a different thing this time.

“There’s just a lot of joy with me and these films... Honestly, if I wasn’t excited, I wouldn’t have done it. It feels like a great thing to be a part of.”

She also revealed that, while she's yet to read a script, she's already excited to pick up Rey’s lightsabre once more. “It feels pretty amazing to be able to continue a character – like, can I even remember how to play her?” she said. “It’s an interesting challenge as an actor to come back to something and try to figure out what’s changed for me and what’s changed for her.”

Who will star alongside Daisy Ridley?

Ridley will be making her return as Rey Skywalker, last seen in The Rise of Skywalker. It is unclear if her sequel trilogy co-stars Oscar Isaac and John Boyega will be joining her.

Speaking with Variety at Star Wars Celebration, Kathleen Kennedy spoke about Ridley’s excitement to return to the franchise, saying that she was “out of her mind excited”.

She went on to elaborate on Ridley’s attendance at the convention, “It was a pretty straightforward phone call. I started out by just saying, ‘Hey, I think we’re getting near being ready.’

"We’ve been talking a lot about what we’re doing in the movie space, and I said, ‘I think we’re getting close to being ready. How would you like to go to Celebration?’ That was really the beginning of it. She was out of her mind excited.”

No other cast details are known at this time, however there is a chance that we might be seeing Grogu, with the story taking place about 45 years after the events of The Mandalorian, and the focus being on a New Jedi Order.

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This would put Grogu at around 90 years of age – the same age in which Master Yoda became a Jedi Knight in the current canon.

Who’s directing?

Documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who most recently worked on the Disney+ Ms. Marvel series, will be helming the untitled project, based on a script by Steven Knight, who took over from Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson.

The Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker has won two Academy Awards for documentary shorts, and brings a humanistic style to a galaxy far, far away. Obaid-Chinoy will also mark the first woman to helm a Star Wars project, as well as the first person of colour.

The filmmaker has shared her thoughts on directing the Star Wars film, saying to CNN: “I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something very special. We’re in 2024 now, and it’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape a story in a galaxy far, far away.”

Is there a trailer for Daisy Ridley's Star Wars return?

There is no trailer for the project and it’s unlikely there will be one for the foreseeable future until production gets underway.

Watch: The biggest reveals from Star Wars: Celebration