There are major film franchises, and then there's the Star Wars movies. Generations were brought up on the galaxy far far away (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription), and fans are super passionate. Those fans were hyped when it was revealed that a new Star Wars trilogy was in development, including a movie starring Daisy Ridley's Rey. But the actress' latest acting gig has me nervous about that long-developing blockbuster.
George Lucas' franchise has been absent from the big screen since the end of The Rise of Skywalker, but that'll change when The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters in May. The Rey movie was announced back in 2023, so it's already been in development for a while. When Deadline reported that Daisy Ridley will star in Pierre Morel's thriller The Good Samaritan, it was made clear that the movie still isn't ready to film. Will it stay in development hell forever, or will we ever actually get to see this project?
Obviously actors work all the time, so I may be a bit of an alarmist here. But the fact that fans are so passionate about the upcoming Star Wars movie and it still doesn't have a clear path to theaters is concerning. It's also noteworthy that both The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter will end up released before the trilogy that the studio announced.
While there's plenty of hope for those aforementioned titles, the lack of updates about the Rey movie is a real bummer. I'm personally ready to see Daisy Ridley's character start a new Jedi Order, preferably with Finn as one of her students. Hopefully the movie gets some forward momentum sooner rather than later.
Funny enough, Star Wars fans have been galvanized by the concept of another follow-up to The Rise of Skywalker lately. The internet was set ablaze Adam Driver revealed he pitched a Kylo Ren movie, meant to be directed by Steven Soderbergh and titled The Hunt for Ben Solo. Since then fans have started campaigning for the studio to change its mind, including flying a plane over Disney asking it to "save" that scrapped title.
I think this is a clear sign that fans are interested in projects that follow the events of The Rise of Skywalker, and focus on the trilogy characters we know and love. While I'm also hyped that Star Wars is bringing back standalone movies, the concept of Rey as a Jedi Master is too good to pass up.
Ridley's job on The Good Samaritan does sound exciting, as director Pierre Morel worked on action flicks like Peppermint and Taken. It's also being written by Rambo: First Blood screenwriter Matthew Ian Cirulnick.
Star Wars will return to the big screen with The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22nd as part of the 2026 movie release list. I'll keep my fingers (and lightsabers) crossed that the Rey movie moves forward.
