Daisy Ridley: She expects a lot from ‘Star Wars’

Daisy Ridley says her return to ‘Star Wars‘ “is worth it.”

The 31-year-old actress will reprise her role as Rey in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film ‘Star Wars: New Jedi Order’ and explained that she chose to join the project because the quality of the story is evident, not because of the chance to work with the franchise’s first female director.

When asked how Sharmeen would influence the sci-fi series, Daisy told ‘Variety’: “The short answer is I don’t know. I’m looking forward to doing the job, but not because Sharmeen is a woman. No spoilers, but she’s given me an overview of the entire story. If it weren’t great, I would have said, ‘Okay, call me in five years.’ But it’s worth it.”

Daisy also explained that she isn’t worried about filming a ‘Star Wars’ movie without her co-stars from the sequel trilogy – including John Boyega and Adam Driver – as she has continued to evolve as an actress in the meantime. The ‘Sometimes I Think About Dying’ star said: “I don’t know what’s what or who’s who. So much has happened for me since the Skywalker saga. I feel like an adult now. When I started, I was about 20 years old. I was the youngest on set. It took me the first two ‘Star Wars’ films to feel worthy of being there.

Now I’m in my 30s. It all feels very different. I’ve been able to work with other filmmakers and hope I’ve become a better performer.” Daisy recently confirmed that the film, set to be released in May 2026, will take the franchise’s story “in a slightly different direction.” Speaking to ‘AlloCine’, she said: “I think it’s a really fantastic exploration of the ‘Star Wars’ world.”