British actress Daisy Ridley says Star Wars return feels ‘exciting and nerve-racking’

British actress Daisy Ridley says reprising her role as Jedi hero Rey feels “exciting and nerve-racking” as she returns to the Star Wars franchise for a new film.

Walt Disney Co, which purchased Star Wars producer Lucasfilm in 2012 and released three movies starring Ridley from 2015 to 2019, as well as different TV series, announced new plans for the franchise in 2023.

It said Ridley’s new film would focus on rebuilding the New Jedi Order.

“I’m very excited, it feels like a new adventure,” Ridley, 32, told Reuters at the London premiere of another Disney film, Young Woman And The Sea, on May 29.

“It’s a world that I’m familiar with, I’m coming back to, but also it feels like a new start. So it feels exciting and nerve-racking, and I’m excited.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on May 28, Ridley said she had yet to read a script for the Star Wars film. “I have not read actual words on actual paper, but (a script) is soon coming,” she told the American entertainment publication.

In Young Woman And The Sea, Ridley plays American swimmer Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle, an Olympic gold medallist who became the first woman to swim the English Channel.

In 1926, Ederle set off from northern France for the southern English coast, making the crossing in 14 hours, 31 minutes and beating the men’s world record by one hour and 59 minutes.

Despite a huge celebratory parade in New York on her return, Ederle’s name and accomplishments are not as well known to the general public as those of other sports figures. She died in 2003.

“Playing someone who is determined and resilient… who has a real joy for what they’re doing, is wonderful,” Ridley said, adding she had undergone a gruelling swimming training regimen for the role.