It is onerous to imagine that six years have already handed since audiences have seen Rey — or any of the sequel trilogy characters — in a brand new Star Wars film. Her absence has been particularly notable contemplating Lucasfilm introduced plans at Star Wars Celebration 2023 for Daisy Ridley to return for a Rey-centric movie, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Growth on the movie has been quiet since then, apart from a rumored title, Star Wars: New Jedi Order, surfacing, and George Nolfi taking on scripting duties at the beginning of this yr. The dearth of definitive updates on its standing at Star Wars Celebration 2025 even elevated the considerations that Rey’s film has been canceled.
Lucasfilm has as a substitute stored its deal with getting The Mandalorian and Grogu prepared for subsequent yr and shifting rapidly on Star Wars: Starfighter so it may possibly come out in 2027. There have been many different films in improvement (together with the key, now-dead The Hunt For Ben Solo), with some solutions that Rey’s future may relaxation with Simon Kinberg’s upcoming trilogy.
Whether or not that film or New Jedi Order is the place Ridley returns as Rey for the primary time after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, an obvious setback for these plans has now quietly come to the floor.
Daisy Ridley’s Schedule Prevents Rey’s Star Wars Return From Filming Till Late 2026
Within the years because the sequel trilogy’s conclusion, Ridley has remained busy professionally, taking over quite a lot of roles that showcase extra of her vary and provides her alternatives to discover genres past sci-fi. That is persevering with with information that she’ll star in Killa Bee, a MMA biopic about Byrony Tyrell.
This film has no direct connection to Lucasfilm and Disney, however Ridley’s involvement does have some influence on what Star Wars can do with Rey. The commerce report of the information confirms that manufacturing on Killa Bee is predicted to start in Q2 of 2026, which is from April 1 to June 30.
As long as the manufacturing dates don’t shift, Daisy Ridley’s filming schedule for the undertaking will forestall her from tackling any return for Rey till afterward. The actress probably took on this new undertaking with some understanding of Lucasfilm’s timeline for Rey’s subsequent look. With Killa Bee now occupying her time, we are able to rule out the small likelihood that New Jedi Order is planning to movie within the first half of subsequent yr.
That film, or the primary entry in Kinberg’s trilogy, will now have to attend till late 2026 to suit their manufacturing into Ridley’s schedule. That’s disappointing for anybody, like myself, who actually needs Rey to return again. However it does make some sense when taking a look at Star Wars‘ huge image.
Lucasfilm clearly shouldn’t be able the place they will begin filming one other Star Wars film by the top of 2025, and there is no rush to get one going within the first half of 2026 with The Mandalorian and Grogu and Starfighter occupying the studio’s launch dates the subsequent two years. Until they need to transfer as much as two movies a yr, 2028 is the subsequent out there slot for a Star Wars film.
Rey returning within the 2028 Star Wars movie does work with Ridley’s present schedule, too. The film may begin manufacturing in late 2026 and have practically a yr and a half to go from the beginning of filming to launch. That is the identical timeline Starfighter is working with. Lucasfilm may do the identical factor with the subsequent Rey film, if that does wind up being the subsequent movie they make.
If the studio wished to present Rey’s return a bit extra time to movie earlier than a 2028 launch and begin filming within the first half of 2026, that is now much more difficult with Killa Bee. And there is no telling what different films Ridley is connected to may transfer ahead quicker and hold pushing issues again.
Having to attend one other two-ish years (at the very least) to see Rey once more is disappointing after the 2023 film announcement, however Ridley has maintained publicly that it will likely be definitely worth the wait. As she fills up her schedule with different initiatives till it occurs, we’re left to attend and attempt to piece collectively the clues on when her Star Wars return will materialize.