New information suggests Daisy Ridley's Rey could've been drastically different in Lucasfilm's 2025 Star Wars film.
Before Lucasfilm announced Daisy Ridley's return in the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed film, Watchmen's Damon Lindelof was famously attached to the project and penning the script alongside Justin Britt-Gibson.
That all changed mere weeks ahead of Star Wars Celebration when both writers left the project, despite it still moving forward.
And, while Star Wars fans now know the future flick features Ridley, reprising her sequel trilogy role, a new rumor claims that wasn't always the case.
Daisy Ridley Wasn't Supposed To Play Rey
On The Hot Mic podcast with John Rocha, insider Jeff Sneider revealed that Damon Lindelof's scrapped Star Wars pitch was set "60 years" after Episode IX:
"It sounded like what he wanted to do, from what I understand, was 60 years after 'Rise of the Skywalker'."
As a result, Sneider explained, "It was supposed to be an older Rey" and Lindelof had a "prototype person" in mind to play the Palpatine-turned-Skywalker:
"It was supposed to be an older Rey training two Jedi, right? A man and a woman, who I think both would've been of color. Now, they didn't go out to this actress, this was not offered, but she was the comp, she was the person when they put together the casting list it's like, 'Oh, ideally this is who we want.' It doesn't necessarily mean that the prototype person is the person that [gets the role]."
As for who the actress was, Sneider revealed, "But, basically, the older Rey, they were thinking of Helen Mirren."
Mirren is an Academy Award-winning English actress who, in addition to her roles in The Queen and Catherine the Great, has also starred in pop-culture franchise films like F9: The Fast Saga and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Was Rey the Next Obi-Wan Kenobi?
As Jeff Sneider noted, this rumor does not mean Helen Mirren was supposed to be in the next Star Wars movie.
It does, however, give fans an idea of what could've been if Lucasfilm hadn't rejected Lindelof's draft in favor of a story set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker instead of 60.
Something worth noting is that a Mirren-esque Rey probably would've been a female take on Alec Guiness' original Obi-Wan Kenobi.
If so, this would've been interesting given many fans expected Rey to be a Kenobi before Episode IX revealed her as a Palpatine.
Also, an older Rey serving as the mentoring Jedi Master likely meant her two proteges would've been the stars instead of her, potentially setting up another trilogy of a new generation of Jedi.
While Daisy Ridley's Rey will still be older in the Star Wars film that's moving forward, she will still be in her prime, suggesting the 2025 film may not be as much of a restart after all.
As new details continue to surface about Lindelof's script, exactly what Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's film is remains unclear.
Hopefully, Lucasfilm will reveal more about Rey's confirmed Star Wars future in the months to come.
