Daisy Ridley’s next Star Wars film is a mystery, with very little announced beyond the fact that Steven Knight is currently writing up a script.
The Peaky Blinders scribe took over from Watchmen writer Damon Lindelof.
Beyond that, no one is attached to the film – which Daisy Ridley is confirmed to be returning for as Rey.
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Despite this, in a recent exclusive interview with UNILAD, Ridley gave a hint as to who she would want to see join the Star Wars universe in her film… kind of.
This comes off the back of Ridley saying in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter (THR) that she wants to have John Boyega re-join the franchise alongside her.
When asked by THR if she wants him to be a part of her new film, she said ‘absolutely, of course’, before saying: “It feels like we should.”
This came with John Boyega having been critical of his experience with Disney and the franchise, but later saying he’d be open to a return.
Boyega initially told GQ in 2020: “You get yourself involved in projects and you’re not necessarily going to like everything,”
“What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side.
“It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.
“So, what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience.
“They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley.
“Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.”
Despite this, Boyega later said in 2023 he would be open to a return to the franchise.
Moving forward to 2024, we spoke to Ridley during the press tour for Young Woman and the Sea, her newest film which is out in select theatres now.
We asked her, in light of saying she’d love to see Boyega return, who would be the one actor she’d love to see join the Star Wars universe.
See her reply below:
As you can see, Ridley was pretty undecided, with us suggesting she email us over an answer later.
While she may not have been the one to suggest Robert De Niro, she ends with: "Do you know what, De Niro, let's say it."
Until we get that email from Daisy, I think the Goodfellas actor is a great answer.
You may roll your eyes at the idea, but his willingness to take roles in films like Joker – combined with legendary actors such as Max Von Sydow having joined the franchise in the past – mean I’d say it’s not impossible.
Topics: Star Wars, Robert De Niro, Peaky Blinders, Film and TV
Michael Slavin