Daisy Ridley’s long-discussed return to Star Wars is still up in the air.
Despite being announced nearly three years ago as a key part of Lucasfilm’s theatrical future, the Rey Skywalker film remains stalled, with no production timeline and little public movement behind the scenes.
Lucasfilm unveiled the project at Star Wars Celebration in 2023, presenting it as a standalone theatrical story set roughly 15 years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The film was described as following Rey as she works to rebuild the Jedi Order.
At the time, the announcement carried added weight. It marked Lucasfilm’s most concrete attempt to re-establish Star Wars as a big-screen franchise after years focused primarily on Disney+ series.
While Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy remains attached as director, the project has quietly cycled through multiple screenwriters since its announcement. No filming window has been announced, and Lucasfilm has largely avoided discussing the movie publicly.
The silence became more pronounced when outgoing president Kathleen Kennedy omitted the Rey film entirely during a recent Deadline interview outlining the studio’s upcoming slate.
Daisy Ridley Offers a Reality Check
With few official updates, Daisy Ridley has become the primary voice addressing the project’s status.
Back in December, Ridley told IGN that the extended development process was frustrating but necessary, calling the creative team “incredible” and stressing that the film had not been scrapped.
In a new interview with USA Today, Ridley was asked whether fans could expect news on the film in 2026. Her response offered little optimism.
“I don’t know about 2026. In the future, sometime, yeah,” she said.
The comment underscored how undefined the project remains. Rather than hinting at progress, Ridley’s answer suggested that even tentative internal timelines have yet to solidify.
For fans tracking Lucasfilm’s recent output, the uncertainty feels familiar.
After The Rise of Skywalker, the studio stepped away from theatrical releases entirely, redirecting its focus toward streaming. Several films were announced during that period, but failed to materialize.
Even as Lucasfilm signals a renewed interest in cinemas, projects tied to established characters appear to be moving the slowest.
A Franchise Stuck in Development
The Rey film now joins a growing list of Star Wars movies announced but left in development limbo. Projects from Rian Johnson, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and Taika Waititi remain without firm timelines.
Kennedy recently confirmed that a script exists for Waititi’s film, though she offered no indication of when it might move forward. The Rey project appears similarly stalled.
Some fans believe the delays are connected to the cancellation of The Hunt for Ben Solo, a proposed film centered on Kylo Ren. Adam Driver – who previously claimed that he was “done” with Star Wars – confirmed the project’s existence last year.
Driver revealed that Disney CEO Bob Iger ultimately rejected the script due to concerns over how Ben Solo survived The Rise of Skywalker. News of the cancellation prompted backlash online.
Speculation quickly emerged that Rey’s standalone film may have originally been designed to connect with The Hunt for Ben Solo. The sequel trilogy closely linked Rey and Ben’s stories.
The Rise of Skywalker established the pair as a dyad in the Force, with Ben sacrificing his life to revive Rey. How to move forward from that ending has remained a point of debate.
Ridley has acknowledged awareness of the abandoned project. “I knew a piece of it,” she told IGN. “I heard rumblings. I have lots of friends who are crew, so things always travel like that.”
She added, “When the story came out, no, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And it was him that said it, right? It was funny because, like, ‘Oh, wow, Adam is saying it,’ and that’s the big surprise of the year.”
