Exclusive: Daisy Ridley Signed To Secret Star Wars Movie, Regina King In Talks
Daisy Ridley will be starring in Damon Lindelof's Star Wars movie, and Regina King may be joining her in the film.
Daisy Ridley is on her way back to Star Wars. Our trusted and proven sources have let us know that Ridley has signed on to the film that producer Damon Lindelof is developing for Disney. We’ve also learned that Lindelof is hoping to once again work with his Watchmen star Regina King, who is in talks to appear.
Deadline broke the news over the weekend that the Lost co-creator was working on the sequel with Ms. Marvel‘s Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attached to direct. The news that Daisy Ridley will appear in the project would presumably signal that Star Wars is, chronologically speaking, finally moving in a forward direction. Of all the series the franchise has produced since the 2019 release of The Rise of Skywalker, none of them have been set any later than the years between The Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
There are still plenty of unknowns, such as whether Daisy Ridley will be the hero of this upcoming Star Wars film, or if her hero Rey will be taking up more of a mentorship role; like Mark Hamill does in the controversial The Last Jedi. There’s also nothing to indicate that Obaid-Chinoy’s film will be the beginning of another trilogy. The report from Deadline mentions only one film as opposed to another saga.
The possible addition of Regina King to the franchise would be a welcome one, though as of yet there’s no indication regarding exactly what role she’s in talks for. While King is 51 years old, there’s every possibility she could be playing an action-oriented role opposite Daisy Ridley in the upcoming Star Wars feature. Two of King’s most recent roles both demanded action performances and turned out as critically acclaimed successes.
King played Trudy in Jeymes Samuel’s star-studded western The Harder They Fall on Netflix; and which she was joined by Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, and Lakeith Stanfield among others. Before that she was the masked police detective Angela Abar aka Sister Night in HBO’s Watchmen. It wouldn’t be difficult to imagine the star wielding a lightsaber for either side of the Force.
As a Black woman, Regina King would face difficulties her potential co-star Daisy Ridley wouldn’t endure after accepting a Star Wars role. While Ridley has certainly dealt with her own share of toxic fan reactions, over the past decade actors of color who have taken prominent roles in Star Wars have been punished by vocal and ugly sections of fandom. Moses Ingram–who played Inquisitor Reva in Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series–was one of the most recent examples, prompting both Ewan McGregor and Lucasfilm to publicly call on fans to grow up.
Similar attacks drove Kelly Marie Tran off social media, and are one of the major factors informing John Boyega’s statements that he is done with the franchise. Unless Damon Lindelof, Daisy Ridley, or someone else convinces him to change his mind, we likely won’t see Finn reunite with Rey in the upcoming Star Wars sequel.
