Daisy Ridley Shares Excitement For Rey Return; Says New STAR WARS Movie Is "Not What I Expected"

Rumors had been doing the rounds for quite a while that Daisy Ridley might be in talks to return as Star Wars sequel trilogy lead, Rey, for a future project set in the galaxy far, far away, and the news was finally confirmed during Star Wars Celebration London back in April.

Ridley will reprise her role as Rey "Skywalker" for director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's movie, which will be set a whole fifteen years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Plot details are still mostly under wraps, but we do know that Rey will be a "powerful Jedi master" running her own training academy when we catch up with her.

Now, Ridley has addressed her return as the powerful Force-wielder for the first time since Celebration during an interview with Collider.

"I was shitting myself before I went on stage, because no one knew I was going to that," she said of her surprise appearance at the Celebration panel. "No one knew I was going to Celebration, bar like Kathy [Kennedy] and there were a couple of people. I was so nervous. Oh my God. It was such a wonderful reception. I'm very excited. The story is really cool. I'm waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don't have any other updates. It's not what I expected, but I'm very excited."

Ridley remained tight-lipped about specific plot details, but she did reveal that she believes the untitled film ("Star Wars: A New Beginning" has been rumored) will be the next big-screen Star Wars project to enter production.

"I know the storyline for one film. That's not to say that that's all it is, but that's what I was told about. And I imagine it will be the next film, I think. I mean, again, I don't know, post strikes and everything, how quickly everything will start up again. But yes, so far, I know the story of one film and I think people will be very excited."

In a separate interview with THR, Ridley spoke about being pitched the idea over breakfast. She also notes that she hasn't actually read the script yet, but does know the story.

"I had a breakfast with Kathy [Kennedy] that I thought was just breakfast. (Laughs.) And then it was mentioned, so I thought about it. I loved the story, and I was like, “Okay.” Things then happened quite quickly, and it felt like I was instantaneously on a stage being introduced by [director] Sharmeen [Obaid-Chinoy]. It honestly took me back to being 20 or 21, however old I was, when [Star Wars: The Force Awakens] was announced. I was petrified, I was overwhelmed, I was really nervous but the response was really wonderful. And I’m genuinely really excited about the next one. I haven’t read anything, but I know the story. It’s really worth telling, worth exploring, and I think people will be excited."