Daisy Ridley has stepped up in defense of apparent delays to Star Wars: New Jedi Order

, the movie in which Rey will return. It’s been two years now since Lucasfilm revealed Daisy Ridley was set to return to Star Wars, and progress has been slow on Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s movie. We initially thought this would be the next Star Wars movie, but instead that will be The Mandalorian and Grogu; all signs are that Shawn Levy’s mystery Star Wars movie will follow on.

Speaking to THR, Daisy Ridley has spoken out in defense of the delays – the latest of which were a result of changing writer, with The Bourne Ultimatum‘s George Nolfi signing up. “People have talked about it a lot that the release date often affects films and how quickly things go into production,” she pointed out. “So the freedom to make sure that this script is the best way to tell this story is wonderful, and I don’t think any fans would want it to be rushed. The wait will be worth it. I know what George is working on, and he is a phenomenal writer. So I’m really looking forward to reading it, and yes, it’s all worthwhile.“

Daisy Ridley Is Right, & Lucasfilm Never Announced A Release Date

We’ve All Been Making ᴀssumptions

To be fair, Lucasfilm never actually announced a release date for this movie at all (nor, in fact, has the studio officially confirmed it’s called Star Wars: New Jedi Order). Rather, viewers have simply made a lot of ᴀssumptions about the project; Ridley’s return was ᴀssumed to be a priority, meaning everybody figured it would come first. When The Mandalorian and Grogu was announced, all attention moved to the next release date.

Ridley is absolutely right when she says that release dates often lead to things being rushed. Ironically, this is a point Disney boss Bob Iger himself made in his autobiography, The Ride Of A Lifetime; but with Star Wars, Disney rarely practiced what Iger preached. Iger himself was reportedly responsible for refusing to push Solo: A Star Wars Story back to December 2018, while Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker could have done with a delay to fine-tune the script.

Our Take On Daisy Ridley’s Return

Star Wars Mustn’t Rush It

The truth is, Disney need to get Rey’s return right. Rey is one of Star Wars‘ most valuable cinematic ᴀssets; that was proven by the sheer joy when Ridley’s return was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023. I’ll never forget attending, and seeing how many female fans were dressed as Rey, a delightful reminder that online discussion is not reality. This all means the stakes are very high for Rey’s return.

Nobody really remembers when a movie has been delayed. Everybody remembers when a movie is bad, though. I’d much rather Star Wars: New Jedi Order got held back, so the quality would be there.

Source: THR