has shed some light on the recent delays in returning to the franchise. At Star Wars Celebration 2023, it was announced that Ridley would reprise her role as Rey in an upcoming film set 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Despite Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy being announced as the film's director, the film has undergone multiple writer changes, with The Bourne Ultimatum's George Nolfi recently signed on as the latest. While the film looked to be aiming for a December 2026 release date, it has since been delayed. Ridley spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the delays centered around her upcoming Star Wars film.

"People have talked about it a lot that the release date often affects films and how quickly things go into production. 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 [Nolfi] is working on, and he is a phenomenal writer. So I’m really looking forward to reading it, and yes, it’s all worthwhile."

It is worth noting that the Rey Star Wars movie never had an officially set release date. Lucasfilm did announce, and then remove, an untitled Star Wars film from December 2026, but it was never confirmed to be Daisy Ridley's movie as it could feasibly have been James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi film. Now, with news that Shawn Levy is looking at making a Star Wars film as well as Simon Kinberg developing his own Star Wars trilogy, it seems like Lucasfilm won't rush out Daisy Ridley's film and is willing to give it the time it needs to develop.

In many ways, Ridley's statements about not rushing the latest Star Wars movie into production until the script is ready is the right call. There has been a recent criticism of blockbuster films that they are so locked into release dates that they are unwilling to delay their films and often barrel into productions without finished scripts, which can result in subpar movies. An unwillingness to postpone the film doomed The Rise of Skywalker, as original director Colin Trevorrow left production in September 2017, with J.J. Abrams quickly being brought on board and given the shortest pre-production period of any film in the Star Wars franchise before the camera began to roll. The result was the most divisive film in the franchise.

Yet, it also speaks about the double-edged sword of fandom. While fans claim they don't want movies to be rushed and for filmmakers to take their time on a film, they also tend to take any news of delays or changes in writers as an inherently bad sign, with many going, "How is this so difficult," not realizing how hard it is to make a movie.

Star Wars has made a bad habit of announcing movies far in advance without delivering on them, but that is also just the state of Hollywood productions, where movies spend years in development. Despite the criticism that these films are assembly-line productions, these types of delays show that there is a lot of thought and work being put into them. Ultimately, what matters is that a good Star Wars movie is made, and how long it takes to make it doesn't matter.