Summary

• Daisy Ridley's swift return to Star Wars comes only five years after her latest appearance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
• Ridley expected a longer hiatus - around 10 or 15 years - before reprising her role, but Obaid-Chinoy's story idea changed her mind.
• While eager for Rey's new story, Ridley has yet to see a completed script, adding to the excitement of her return.

Daisy Ridley's return in Star Wars: New Jedi Order comes only five years after The Rise of Skywalker, leading many to wonder why Rey Skywalker's comeback is happening so soon. Rey Skywalker's return in the provisionally titled film has been one of the upcoming Star Wars movies in production of late. Alongside other stories like The Mandalorian & Grogu, Rey's New Jedi Order story will look to reignite theatrical dominance for the Star Wars franchise.

Concerning the story of Rey's Star Wars return, little is known about what the script will entail. Thus far, only minor details about the film have been confirmed, making any upcoming revelations about Rey Skywalker's New Jedi Order coveted information. That said, one aspect of the film that has been focused on at length is Ridley's decision to return. With Ridley coming back to Star Wars only five years after The Rise of Skywalker, the queries of why the actor chose to come back when she did have been answered at length.

Daisy Ridley Didn't Expect To Return To Star Wars So Soon

Ridley Expected Rey's Star Wars Return To Be Later In Her Life

Arguably the main question aimed at Daisy Ridley since Rey's return to Star Wars was confirmed is whether she expected to be wielding the lightsaber again so soon. As alluded to, The Rise of Skywalker was released in theaters in 2019. Since then, Lucasfilm has pivoted its efforts to constructing Star Wars TV shows, though recent announcements have confirmed the studio's plans to return to the big screen. Regardless, many were shocked to hear that a theatrical story starring Ridley was in the works so early, including the actor herself.

In an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ridley was asked about the quick turnaround of her Star Wars career. Ridley was frank about her return, agreeing that she did not expect to reprise her role until 10–15 years had passed: "That was my thought. I thought maybe in a little while, pop in, say hi, pop out again. So the timeline was the surprise to me." This confirms that Ridley did not expect only a five-year gap between what was expected to be her final Star Wars appearance and her reprisal.

The timeline of Ridley's return is much quicker than other reprisals, such as Hayden Christensen or Ewan McGregor's returns to Star Wars.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Pitch Was Irresistible To Ridley

The Swift Nature Of Ridley's Return Was Linked To Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Story Ideas

One of the other confirmed aspects of Star Wars: New Jedi Order is the director of the project. At Star Wars Celebration 2023, it was confirmed that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy would be helming the film, with it since being confirmed that Obaid-Chinoy was a big factor in Ridley's return only five years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Obaid-Chinoy is primarily known for her work on Marvel Studios' Ms. Marvel, though has also gained recognition for her journalistic documentaries as a political activist that highlight gender inequalities against women.

While this certainly had an impact on Ridley's return due to the opportunity to work with someone of Obaid-Chinoy's ilk, it was the director's pitch for the story that captured Ridley's interest the most. In January 2024, comments from Ridley about the new Star Wars story provided insight into why she returned so soon. Ridley was asked about Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's pitch and had this to say in return:

"I’m excited to do the job, but not because Sharmeen is a woman. Her documentaries are amazing. Her idea for the story is cool as ****. No spoilers, but she gave me a rundown of the entire story. If it weren’t amazing, I would have been like, 'OK, call me in five years.' But it’s worthwhile."

As evident, Obaid-Chinoy's ideas for the continuation of Rey's story were a big influence on Ridley accepting the role. Linking to her comments about the timeline of her Star Wars return, Ridley was originally expecting to come back 10 years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, were it not for the strength of the film's story. The ideas that Obaid-Chinoy relayed to Ridley, from a script being written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, were so irresistible that Ridley was more than happy to speed up the timeline of her Star Wars return.

Daisy Ridley Still Only Knows The Bare Bones

Despite Ridley's Excitement, A Script Is Not Yet Completed For The New Jedi Order Film

While Ridley's eagerness to tell Obaid-Chinoy's story explains her willingness to return to Star Wars so soon, it remains the case that the former still has not seen a script. This is certainly interesting, as what Ridley has been told about the film will only be the basis of the story. Ridley has yet to see a full, completed script for the project, something that could only further increase her excitement about the film. This was still known to be the case as late as March 2024, with Ridley addressing a title rumor for the Star Wars movie.

This led Ridley to comment on the status of the film's script: "I know a script is happening, and I'm going to be reading it imminently, which is very exciting."

When asked about rumors that a new title for the film had been confirmed, Ridley explained that, as far as she is aware, the project is still going by its tentative title of Star Wars: New Jedi Order. This led Ridley to comment on the status of the film's script: "I know a script is happening, and I'm going to be reading it imminently, which is very exciting." Despite knowing the overall outline of Star Wars: New Jedi Order, which contributed to her swift return to the franchise, Ridley eagerly anticipates a full script as much as any Star Wars fan.