Something shifted around Daisy Ridley this week — and Star Wars fans noticed immediately.
Lucasfilm has spent the past several years insisting Rey’s story is not over. Yet since the studio announced a new sequel-era film during Star Wars Celebration, concrete progress has remained difficult to track.
The untitled movie, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, was introduced as a continuation of the timeline established in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Rey would reportedly lead efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order roughly 15 years after the fall of the First Order.
Since then, however, the project has become closely associated with rewrites, creative turnover, and long stretches of silence.
Multiple writers have entered and exited the film over the past two years, including Damon Lindelof, Justin Britt-Gibson, and Steven Knight. George Nolfi is now believed to be handling the latest draft.
Meanwhile, Lucasfilm’s broader theatrical strategy has remained in constant motion.
Several previously announced Star Wars films have either quietly disappeared or dramatically shifted direction behind the scenes. That instability has left some fans increasingly skeptical about whether Rey’s standalone return will actually materialize in the form originally announced.
Even Daisy Ridley has avoided making firm promises.
“I don’t know about 2026,” Ridley told USA Today earlier this year when asked whether audiences should expect meaningful updates soon. “In the future, sometime, yeah.”
Daisy Ridley’s Film Exit Sparks Questions
The latest round of speculation did not begin with Star Wars.
Instead, attention turned toward an entirely separate production after reports surfaced that Ridley had exited the upcoming MMA drama Killa Bee. Gemma Arterton is now set to replace her in the film, which reportedly begins shooting in the United Kingdom later this month.
Directed by Kenton Oxley, Killa Bee is based on the true story of Bryony “Killa Bee” Tyrell, a nurse balancing hospital shifts with a parallel career as an MMA fighter. Elliot J. Langridge and Pippa Bennett-Warner also star.
On its own, the casting change would likely have passed quietly.
Instead, online speculation escalated almost immediately as some Star Wars fans connected Ridley’s departure to ongoing rumors surrounding undisclosed Lucasfilm productions.
“Daisy Ridley just recently dropped out of her previous signed project which will film at the end of MAY,” one fan wrote online. “The casting call which agency insisted to be Star Wars film begins filming at the end of MAY… ?? Coincidence??”
Another responded more bluntly: “Star Wars Rey movie is coming.”
Those reactions reflect how little official information currently exists around Lucasfilm’s sequel-era plans. In the absence of announcements, even routine scheduling changes have started generating franchise theories online.
Ridley herself has continued speaking positively about the Rey project despite the delays.
Earlier this year, the actress told ComicBook.com, “I think the story will be wonderful. I think the wait will be worthwhile. I think it will be a discovery, as all roles are, of where Rey is when we meet her again.”
Outside of those comments, Lucasfilm has largely stayed quiet.
Rey’s Future Exists Inside a Much Larger Lucasfilm Problem
The uncertainty surrounding Rey is no longer isolated to a single movie.
Over the past few years, Lucasfilm has repeatedly announced theatrical projects that later stalled, changed creatively, or vanished altogether. Some of those films were publicly unveiled before scripts were fully locked, creating a growing perception that the studio’s Star Wars roadmap remains unusually fluid.
One of the clearest examples emerged last year through revelations surrounding The Hunt for Ben Solo.
In 2025, Adam Driver disclosed that he had spent roughly two years developing a Ben Solo-focused continuation set after The Rise of Skywalker. Steven Soderbergh was attached to direct, with Scott Z. Burns writing the screenplay.
According to Driver, Disney ultimately rejected the project despite Lucasfilm reportedly responding favorably to the concept internally.
Driver claimed Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman were confused by the prospect of Ben Solo surviving after the conclusion of The Rise of Skywalker.
Soderbergh later called the decision “insane,” adding that the project never progressed far enough to even enter budget conversations.
That abandoned film has become increasingly relevant to discussions surrounding Rey because Lucasfilm’s announced sequel-era movie remains the franchise’s clearest remaining continuation of that timeline.
Some fans now believe ideas originally explored for Ben Solo could eventually be folded into Rey’s story. There is currently no evidence confirming that theory, though speculation has continued growing online.
Former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who stepped down earlier this year, previously said “anything’s a possibility” regarding the Ben Solo concept. Soderbergh has since indicated he does not expect the project to return.
At the same time, other Star Wars films have moved ahead far more decisively.
The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in theaters later this month, continuing the story established in Disney+’s The Mandalorian as Din Djarin and Grogu become increasingly entangled in the New Republic’s evolving political conflict.
Lucasfilm also recently wrapped production on Star Wars: Starfighter from Shawn Levy. Starring Ryan Gosling, the film reportedly takes place years after The Rise of Skywalker but centers on entirely new characters.
Do you think Daisy Ridley’s Rey movie will push ahead?
