Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has lifted the lid on bringing Daisy Ridley back into the Star Wars universe. At the main Star Wars Celebration panel, it was confirmed that Ridley will be reprising the role of Rey in a feature film set 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker.
Speaking to IGN, Kennedy explained how the movie connects to the Skywalker Saga. "Well we're 15 years out from Rise of Skywalker, so we're post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray," she said. "There's a lot of discussion around, 'Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What's the state of the galaxy?' She's attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that's where we're going."
Kennedy added about whether Luke will be involved in the story: "I don't know if we'll spend a lot of time in flashbacks or Force ghosts or things like that, but certainly, the spirit of what he represents to her is going to be significant."
Kennedy also spoke to Variety about how they managed to secure Ridley's reveal for the Star Wars Celebration special panel. She said: "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."
The new Jedi order will be rebuilt by Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker in a new movie set post-Rise of Skywalker. ‘My heart is pounding!’ says Ridley. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is directing #SWC2023 pic.twitter.com/R1a0H3Gjj8April 7, 2023
Total Film was at the announcement and the crowd went wild when the upcoming movie's director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy announced Ridley would be playing a Jedi Master in the movie. The actor didn't have much to say after walking on stage other than admitting that her "heart was pounding".
Ridley's return was announced as part of Lucasfilm's return to the big screen. They also confirmed a movie is in the making from James Mangold about the first Jedi and the beginnings of the Force. Then there's Dave Filoni's upcoming movie which will bring together some of the major characters from the Disney Plus shows for an epic battle.
You can keep up to date with the galaxy far, far away with our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
