After Years in Limbo, Rey’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie Gets Surprising New Developments
For a long time, Lucasfilm’s Rey movie felt stuck in development limbo.
Announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023, the untitled project was pitched as a continuation of the sequel trilogy timeline, with Daisy Ridley returning as Rey and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attached to direct.
Since then, updates have been sporadic. The film has cycled through multiple writers, including Damon Lindelof, Justin Britt-Gibson, Steven Knight, and George Nolfi, as Lucasfilm largely avoided discussing the project publicly.
That silence became increasingly noticeable as other Star Wars films moved ahead.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is set to hit theaters later this month, while Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter recently wrapped production. Rey’s film, meanwhile, remained difficult to pin down beyond vague updates from Ridley herself.
Some fans feared the project would face the same quiet cancellation as other Star Wars films in recent years. Now, though, several developments have started drawing attention back to the project.
Daisy Ridley’s Exit and a Mysterious Casting Call Fuel Speculation
Earlier this month, reports emerged that Daisy Ridley had dropped out of the upcoming MMA drama Killa Bee, which is expected to begin filming in the United Kingdom later this month.
Casting changes happen regularly in Hollywood, particularly when schedules shift. The timing, however, quickly caught the attention of Star Wars fans already watching for signs of movement surrounding the Rey movie.
Soon after, Nina Gold posted a casting call for two children — a boy aged 12 to 14 and a girl aged 9 to 10 — for an untitled feature filming in the United Kingdom at the end of May.
Daisy Ridley just recently dropped out of her previous signed project which will film at the end of MAY. The casting call which agency insisted to be Star Wars film begins filming at the end of MAY… ?? Coincidence?? 👀 #starwars #daisyridley #rey #trilogy
Daisy Ridley just recently dropped out of her previous signed project which will film at the end of MAY. The casting call which agency insisted to be Star Wars film begins filming at the end of MAY… ?? Coincidence?? 👀 #starwars #daisyridley #rey #trilogy pic.twitter.com/vxQ5RGcjT0
— sunshine supremacy (@callamdenot) May 13, 2026
The roles were described as “small but very important.”
Gold has previously worked on several Star Wars projects, though there is no official confirmation linking the casting notice to Lucasfilm.
Still, the overlap between Ridley’s sudden availability and a U.K.-based production beginning this month was enough to trigger speculation online.
At the same time, John Boyega added another unexpected wrinkle during a recent appearance at MEGACON Orlando.
When a fan shouted for him to “get Dave [Filoni] on the phone” about returning to Star Wars, Boyega replied, “I actually have, actually.”
The comment stood out because Boyega has spent years openly criticizing how Finn’s storyline evolved after Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
While his remarks do not confirm anything about a return, they suggest conversations are happening that once seemed unlikely.
Lucasfilm Appears More Willing to Revisit the Sequel Trilogy
The renewed attention surrounding Rey’s film also comes as Lucasfilm appears to be re-engaging with the sequel trilogy era more broadly.
A recently released tie-in book, The Secrets of the Jedi: The Chronicles of Luke Skywalker, revisits Rey’s decision to take the Skywalker name at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
In the book, Rey frames the choice as a tribute to Luke Skywalker’s legacy and sacrifice.
The clarification arrives years after the ending became one of the sequel trilogy’s more debated creative decisions.
There are also lingering questions about other projects tied to that era.
Last year, Adam Driver revealed that he had spent roughly two years developing The Hunt for Ben Solo with Steven Soderbergh before Disney ultimately killed the project, despite reported interest from Lucasfilm.
The project developed a surprisingly vocal fan campaign afterward, including a banner flown over Disney’s Burbank studios reading “Save ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo.’”
Some have since theorized that Lucasfilm would incorporate elements of the project into Rey’s film.
Ridley herself has remained cautious when discussing Rey’s future.
When asked by USA Today earlier this year whether fans should expect updates in 2026, the actor responded, “I don’t know about 2026. In the future sometime, yeah.”
That remains the clearest official public indication of where the Rey project stands. Back in 2025, however, a source told The Hollywood Reporter, “[Rey] is the most valuable cinematic asset, in some ways maybe the only one, Star Wars has right now.”
Do you think Rey’s standalone Star Wars film will ever happen?
