Daisy Ridley to Reprise Role as Rey in New ‘Star Wars’ Film Set After ‘Rise of Skywalker’: I’m ‘Thrilled’

“I am very thrilled to be continuing this journey,” Ridley said of returning to the Star Wars universe

Rey is making her return to the galaxy.

On Friday, Daisy Ridley made a surprise appearance at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London, taking the stage in a red gown alongside Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy as the latter announced Ridley, 30, would be leading a new Star Wars film.

The movie will take place after the events of 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, Kennedy, 69, said at the event, and be one of three in a new series, directed by James Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Dave Filoni (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka) and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel).

Obaid-Chinoy, 44, said her movie, the one starring Ridley, “will tell the story of rebuilding the new Jedi order,” according to Deadline.

As for Ridley — who will return as her conflicted scavenger-turned-trained-Jedi character, Rey — she told the audience, “I am very thrilled to be continuing this journey.”
Speaking with PEOPLE at the event, Filoni, 48, called Ridley’s return to the space-western franchise “astonishing” and “fantastic.”

“I’m so excited to see her come out on stage and the crowd roaring,” he raved. “Star Wars is generational and she represents that iconic hero character to a generation of Star Wars fans, and I thought it was really beautiful. I was so happy for her.”

Jon Favreau, who created and executive produced The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, told PEOPLE that it is “a thrill” to have the “tremendously talented” Ridley back on board.

“It’s always great to see people returning to the Star Wars world,” added Favreau, 56.
The news comes after Ridley first debuted as Rey in 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, ushering in a new generation of Star Wars fans alongside other fresh faces including John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver.

The trilogy also saw the return of familiar characters — namely, Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo — as the original trio helped the new one (Ridley, Boyega, 31, and Isaac, 44) attempt to bring order to both the galaxy and themselves.

Ridley’s Star Wars trilogy wrapped in 2019, following The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker. More recently, she has focused on other projects like her latest film Sometimes I Think About Dying, which she promoted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

During the festival, Ridley shared advice for other Star Wars franchise actresses, and encouraged them to avoid the dark side of feedback.

“The world is a crazy place,” she told Variety. “It’s important to tune out the stuff.”
“Not just with Star Wars, but with everything,” she continued. “You try and be in the moment and enjoy what it is because life moves quickly.”

Ridley’s comments came as two actors are set to have starring roles in a pair of upcoming franchise series on Disney+ — Amandla Stenberg (who identifies as non-binary) in The Acolyte, and Rosario Dawson in Ahsoka. Leslye Headland also developed The Acolyte, which is said to take place a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999).

“Everyone knows how things are and how they can be,” Ridley said about the huge public reaction to appearing in the Star Wars franchise in the age of social media. “We’re all living in that, with people saying more than they need to and commenting more than they need to. It’s so individual.”

Her advice: “Find the good in it all and enjoy it.”