Daisy Ridley has found herself a post-Star Wars role. She’s signed on to star in psychological thriller The Marsh King’s Daughter, based on the bestselling novel by Karen Dionne.
Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent) will direct from a script penned by Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith (The Revenant).
Ridley will play a woman hiding a dark secret, as her father is the infamous ‘Marsh King’ who kept her and her mother captive in the wilderness for years. After a lifetime of trying to escape her past, she’s forced to face her demons when her father escapes from prison.
This is a good role for Ridley as she seeks to expand her resumé post-Star Wars. Since being cast as Rey back in 2014, she’s only physically appeared in two non-Star Wars films: Murder On The Orient Express and Ophelia. Although there is a good amount of voice work in there, it shows how much of a commitment a gigantic franchise is.
So it’s good to see her spreading her wings and taking on roles that may be out of her comfort zone. Her only other film on tap right now is Chaos Walking, the sci-fi action adventure in which she stars alongside Tom Holland, but that has gone through development hell, multiple delays and frequent reshoots. It does look like it’s finally getting released next month though.
As for The Marsh King’s Daughter, STX International will begin selling the package at the upcoming virtual EFM. CAA Media will handle the sale of U.S. rights, while STX will distribute in the UK, Ireland and India, as the project falls under its output deal with Black Bear Productions, who are financing the film. Production is set to begin this summer in Canada.
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