Should actors start worrying about a possible "Star Wars curse"? After playing Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy, Mark Hamill's acting career never really took off in quite the same way as Harrison Ford's. Later, Hayden Christensen faced similar struggles following his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker and the same can arguably be said for Daisy Ridley.
While Hamill has achieved "icon" status (as has Christensen if the reception he's received from Star Wars fans in recent years is anything to go by), only time will tell whether that happens for Ridley and Rey Skywalker.
The actress is set to reprise the role in an upcoming movie from filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy set 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. In the meantime, Ridley's struggle to cement herself as a star outside of IP like Star Wars, Peter Rabbit, and Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poirot movies sadly continues.
According to Deadline (via SFFGazette.com), her latest project, The Marsh King's Daughter, failed to even crack the top ten this weekend at the North American box office. Earning a mere $849,000 in 1,055 theaters, it's bombed and Lionsgate's decision to delay its release date to avoid competing with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour didn't pay off.
With Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent) directing and an impressive cast which also includes names like Ben Mendelsohn, Garrett Hedlund, Brooklynn Prince, and Gil Birmingham, The Marsh King's Daughter's dismal box office haul shows what sort of an impact the SAG-AFTRA strike is having.
With the cast unable to promote the project - we're betting this is the first many of you have even heard of it before today - projects like these are flying under the radar and struggling to find an audience (a 34% score on Rotten Tomatoes has also done little to help matters).
Ridley, however, doesn't appear to have a huge amount of drawing power at the box office; neither she nor Spider-Man actor Tom Holland were able to help Chaos Walking make a significant impact back in 2021, and he too has struggled outside of well-known IP.
Back to Ridley, though, and some pundits have questioned how wise it is to build an entire Star Wars movie around Rey.
It's far too late to pull the plug on the movie and it's important to note many fans are excited to watch it and to learn how the project potentially makes up for the sequel trilogy's many missteps. Still, we'd be shocked if Lucasfilm isn't planning to add more big stars - and even more familiar faces from the past - to increase interest.
Take a look at the trailer for The Marsh King's Daughter below.