A new video of Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley has fueled fresh hopes for Rey’s return to the galaxy far, far away. Ridley last played the character in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Lucasfilm announced her comeback movie at Star Wars Celebration in April 2023. Meaningful updates dried up in the years since, leaving fans to hunt for clues wherever they can find them.
The clip in question shows Ridley in the middle of a training session, and it spread quickly on social media as fans circulated the footage. Some viewers interpreted the video as a possible sign that Ridley is preparing for her long-awaited Star Wars comeback, whether in her announced Rey movie or another project entirely.
The timing of the video also gives some credence to these fan speculations. Recently, Ridley exited the MMA drama Killa Bee, with Gemma Arterton stepping into the role. That departure cleared a sizable gap in her schedule, arriving while unverified casting chatter around future Star Wars productions kept swirling online. A workout clip proves nothing on its own, but Ridley keeping fit could mean she's preparing for a physically intense role, which Star Wars films typically are.
Ridley herself has offered little to firm up a timeline for her Star Wars return. When USA Today asked in January whether news on the Rey film could arrive this year, she answered, "I don’t know about 2026. In the future, sometime, yeah."
Speaking with IGN a month earlier, the actress insisted the project deserves its long development, clinging on to hope that it might still happen:
"But with ['New Jedi Order'] particularly, I know that incredible voices and creatives are part of it, and I know the wait will be worth it."
Ridley's positive outlook kept the film alive in fans' minds even as former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy skipped the project in a Deadline rundown of the studio’s theatrical slate; an omission that stoked plenty of worry on its own.
Could Daisy Ridley’s Rey Return in Another Star Wars Project?
Currently, the New Jedi Order remains her best bet at returning. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy remains attached to direct, and George Nolfi reportedly took over the script after Steven Knight, Damon Lindelof, and Justin Britt-Gibson each moved on. The story reportedly picks up around 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker as Rey attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order.
One door is already closed. Starfighter writer Jonathan Tropper confirmed the Shawn Levy film features no legacy characters, which rules out a Rey cameo, although it's set five years after the sequel trilogy ended. For a while, an appearance in that film stood as the most popular fan theory for her next appearance.
The wider sequel era may hold a real opportunity, though. There's been chatter that Lucasfilm could pursue more stories set after the Skywalker Saga, especially with John Boyega recently telling ScreenRant he spoke to co-president Dave Filoni about bringing back Finn.
More projects set after the Skywalker Saga would increase the chances of Rey's return. However, all this talk deserves heavy skepticism after what happened with The Hunt for Ben Solo, the cancelled Kylo Ren film Adam Driver revealed last year. That project showed how easily a sequel-era project can die at the studio level. Still, if Lucasfilm wants Rey anchoring that corner of the timeline, a training video, however innocent, will keep feeding speculation until the studio says something official.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
