Daisy Ridley’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie Gets a New Writer

Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars film is to be written by George Nolfi.

Previously known for penning films like “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Ocean’s Twelve,” this scribe is now tasked with crafting the screenplay for the upcoming “Star Wars: New Jedi Order.” This new installment promises the return of Ridley’s iconic character, Rey.

As a passionate cinephile, I was eagerly anticipating the upcoming film that was originally set to be scripted by Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson. However, unexpectedly, the duo parted ways with the project in early 2023, as they encountered creative disagreements with Lucasfilm.

At the Star Wars Celebration held in April 2023, it was announced that Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, would be the new writer for the upcoming Star Wars film. However, by October 2024, he had also left the project.

About a month down the line, whispers about the challenges facing the New Jedi Order’s production started to grow stronger, following Disney’s decision to take a Star Wars movie off its 2026 release calendar and replace it with Ice Age 6 instead. I found myself wondering what this could mean for the future of Star Wars films.

Following the announcement of Knight’s departure and adjustments to Disney’s release plan, Ridley, at 32 years old, affirmatively stated that the project remained active and thriving.

She informed City AM: “Indeed, I’m extremely thrilled about the filming process, and I can’t wait to unveil new advancements to everyone. Everything’s going great, truly!

Actress Daisy Ridley, known for her role as Rey in J.J. Abrams’ “The Force Awakens,” “The Rise of Skywalker,” and Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi,” mentioned she had discussions with Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, regarding taking on a greater role behind the camera for the films.

She mentioned that “All those discussions are indeed ongoing and constructive. As for my role in a producer capacity, I’m unsure of how deeply I’ll be immersed, but it’s been fantastic to hear Kathy’s creative idea for the storyline. I’ve stayed informed about all the progress… To put it simply, I feel more aware of what’s happening now than before, although I’ve always felt included due to things like updates from J.J. or Rian.

As for this matter, I’ve got a clear understanding of the progression. It’s comforting too, knowing that we have ample time to ensure everything is done correctly.

Although she’s been tight-lipped about particular details, the actress from Magpie hinted that her husband, Tom Bateman, is aware of what transpires in the New Jedi Order.

Ridley told People: “He knows the story. [He] swore to secrecy.”

What’s fascinating is that there’s a lot more complexity to it than meets the eye. When I explain something to you, the true nature of it could be quite unexpected. However, he does have a grasp of its intricate details.

Movies That Were Abandoned During Production and Never Finished

All-Star Weekend

In my opinion, I had been eagerly anticipating Jamie Foxx’s directorial debut – a hilarious basketball-themed comedy featuring himself and Jeremy Piven as truck drivers, who unexpectedly secured tickets to the NBA All-Star Game and embarked on an unforgettable journey. Filming occurred in the autumn of 2016, but for years, people would ask Jamie during interviews, “Whatever happened to that project?” Last year, Foxx finally revealed that the movie had been permanently shelved and will never see the light of day due to their attempts to explore sensitive territories with Robert Downey Jr. portraying a Mexican character, similar to his role in ‘Tropic Thunder.’ This piece of information alone speaks volumes about the movie’s fate.

Arrive Alive

Following the release of “Scrooged”, Mitch Glazer and Michael O’Donoghue wrote a script for “Arrive Alive”. This film centered around a detective solving a boxer’s murder while developing feelings for an exotic dancer. Willem Dafoe and Joan Cusack were chosen to play the lead roles, with Jeremiah S. Chechik, known for “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, set to direct. However, Chechik only directed for a week. After a few days of filming, the producers were unhappy with the daily footage, and Dafoe soon left the project. Eventually, the entire budget was declared a loss, and the footage was stored away, remaining unseen ever since.

Batgirl

With the growth of HBO Max by Warner Bros., they initially designed an extensive lineup of live-action DC films specifically for streaming. However, following Discovery’s acquisition of Warner Bros., the plans for Max (later known as such) underwent significant changes – including pausing various projects. The most notable among these was the shelving of “Batgirl,” a film starring Leslie Grace as Batman and featuring J.K. Simmons reprising his role from “Justice League” as Commissioner Gordon, along with Michael Keaton returning to portray Batman following his appearance in “The Flash.” The movie was entirely filmed, compiled into a preliminary version, and screened on the Warner Bros. lot before WBD concluded it would be more beneficial to cancel the project and write off the approximately $90 million spent on its production. Hollywood accounting remains an enigma even for the World’s Greatest Detective to unravel.

Black Water Transit

In 2009, a crime thriller set in New Orleans was filmed, featuring Laurence Fishburne and Karl Urban. However, the film’s release has been delayed due to complex financial and legal problems linked to producer David Bergstein. These complications are difficult to untangle, even when reading about them on the movie’s Wikipedia page. What is certain is that the movie remains unreleased, and Bergstein was imprisoned following a fraud conviction.

Bogart Slept Here

In the aftermath of his groundbreaking role in “Taxi Driver,” Robert De Niro collaborated with director Mike Nichols on a film titled “Bogart Slept Here,” penned by Neil Simon. However, their partnership proved to be short-lived as they discovered that De Niro’s intense acting style didn’t harmonize well with Simon’s clever dialogues during the early stages of filming. As a result, both Nichols and De Niro parted ways from the project. Richard Dreyfuss stepped in to take over De Niro’s role, leading Simon to revise the entire script. In just six weeks, he completed the screenplay for “The Goodbye Girl,” which eventually became a blockbuster hit and earned Dreyfuss an Oscar for Best Actor.

Broadway Brawler

In the course of his career, Bruce Willis encountered several productions that didn’t go as planned. One such project was “Broadway Brawler,” scheduled to be released by Disney in 1997, where he was supposed to portray a retired hockey player who finds love. The filming started but only went on for around three weeks before Willis reportedly grew discontented with the production process. Attempts were made to replace some crew members and continue production, but “Broadway Brawler” remained unfinished. Disney was angered by this turn of events and was prepared to sue Willis for financial losses. However, a compromise was reached where Willis agreed to star in three Disney movies at lower wages to compensate for the losses from “Broadway Brawler.” These movies turned out to be “Armageddon,” “The Sixth Sense,” and “The Kid,” all of which became box office sensations for Disney as well as for Willis. So, it’s always fascinating how things unfold in Hollywood!

The Day the Clown Cried

One of the most infamous unfinished films in cinematic history is a 1972 project by writer, director, and star Jerry Lewis. The film, titled “Helmut Doork,” depicted a German clown who counseled children imprisoned in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. However, the production faced numerous challenges, particularly financial issues; it was rumored that it wasn’t released because the producers never secured the rights to the concept from the original writer. When she viewed the rough cut, she reportedly disliked it so much that she refused to sign the necessary contract, effectively condemning the film to obscurity. The movie remained incomplete, but a rough version was created, which a select few have seen. Some critics called it one of the most ill-advised and disturbing “comedies” ever conceived, while others found positives in it. This rough cut was given to the Library of Congress under the condition that it wouldn’t be screened until 2024.

The Deep

Although Orson Welles achieved critical acclaim with his masterpiece, “Citizen Kane,” he faced financial struggles throughout much of his subsequent career. He’d frequently start a project, exhaust the funds, and shift to another one. This pattern repeated itself with “The Deep,” which he worked on in Europe during the mid-1960s, featuring a cast that included Laurence Harvey and Jeanne Moreau. However, when the financing dried up, Welles attempted to secure additional funds to continue production, but eventually gave up due to Harvey’s unfortunate death in 1973. The movie was based on the novel “Dead Calm,” which was eventually brought to life on the silver screen by director Phillip Noyce years later.

The Double

In 2013, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s short story “The Double” was brought to life on the big screen with Jesse Eisenberg in the lead role. However, nearly two decades earlier, John Travolta was initially attached to portray the main character alongside director Roman Polanski for their own adaptation of “The Double”. Everything seemed set, and the film was well into rehearsals before cameras were about to roll. Unfortunately, a significant disagreement between Travolta and Polanski regarding the creative direction of the project led to its collapse. Remarkably, it found a sort of echo in the form of Eisenberg’s movie years later.

A Glimpse of Tiger

Elliott Gould acquired the rights to Herman Raucher’s 1971 novel “A Glimpse of Tiger” so that he could act in the movie. Filming started under the direction of Anthony Harvey, but Gould dismissed him due to his unpredictable behavior on set, which was alleged to have scared one of his co-stars so much that security had to be hired to protect her. According to some online accounts, Gould’s erratic behavior made him too mentally unstable to work, causing him to stay away from cinema for about two years until he returned with Robert Altman’s “The Long Goodbye.

Gore

Initially when accusations of sexual misconduct surfaced against actor Kevin Spacey, he was replaced in Ridley Scott’s movie “All the Money in the World,” which was about to premiere within a few months. Christopher Plummer stepped in and took over all of Spacey’s scenes, earning an Oscar nomination for his effort. What’s less known is that around the same time, Spacey had also filmed a biopic on Gore Vidal for Netflix. As the lead actor, his replacement would have required reshooting the entire film, which Netflix chose not to do. Consequently, “Gore” remains incomplete and it’s highly unlikely that it will ever be released.

It’s All True

In another unfortunate turn of events for Orson Welles’ cinematic endeavors, the production of “The Magnificent Ambersons” was followed by his appointment as a goodwill ambassador to Latin America. His role involved creating a film that showcased and honored the region’s culture. He traveled extensively to shoot a collection of shorts intended for a feature film titled “It’s All True.”

However, during this period, there was a shift in leadership at Welles’ studio, RKO. The new management had less appreciation for Welles’ work, which led to the re-editing of “Ambersons” without his approval, and the decision to abandon the “It’s All True” footage and recoup costs instead of providing Welles with additional funding to complete the movie. Some of Welles’ leftover footage was eventually used in a documentary chronicling the project’s triumphs and tribulations called “It’s All True: Based on an Unfinished Film By Orson Welles.” However, this documentary is not a full realization of Welles’ original vision for the film.

Revenge of the Nerds (Remake)

2006 Comic-Con goers who stopped by the Fox booth were treated to an abundance of promotional materials and excitement surrounding a reboot of the iconic ’80s comedy, “Revenge of the Nerds.” This film followed a group of misfits standing up against their tormentors, the popular jocks. The cast for this remake featured Adam Brody and Kristin Cavallari, with Kyle Newman (“Fanboys”) set to direct. However, production started as scheduled that fall but was quickly halted following Emory University’s refusal to grant filming permission after reviewing the script. Additionally, the studio’s dissatisfaction with the initial footage meant that the “Nerds” reboot would unfortunately never have its day on the big screen.

Scoob! Holiday Haunt

In contrast to the 2020 CGI revamp of Scooby-Doo titled “Scoob!”, which initially was meant for exclusive streaming on HBO Max, the sequel, named “Holiday Haunt”, ended up being cancelled. Similar to the film “Batgirl”, the project was almost finished when the new leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery decided it would be better not to release the movie on streaming platforms but instead write it off completely. Consequently, “Holiday Haunt” was scrapped, and despite claims that the film was completed, it will never see the light of day.

Superman Lives

Warner Bros. invested approximately $30 million into the production of the film ‘Superman Lives’, but ultimately decided to halt its production before completion. By this point, Tim Burton had been appointed as the director for the movie, and Nicolas Cage had agreed to portray Superman. In fact, Cage underwent numerous costume trials that were later showcased in the documentary ‘The Death of Superman Lives – What Happened?’. The primary reason for cancelling the project was financial; it would have required around $200 million for Warner Bros. to complete and release the film. A somewhat eerie CGI version of Cage’s Superman made a brief appearance in ‘The Flash’. Later, Tim Burton expressed his discontent about the utilization of his ideas without his consent.

10 Things I Hate About Life

It seems like “10 Things I Hate About Life” might have been a sequel to the romantic comedy “10 Things I Hate About You,” but it was actually an entirely different project from the same director (Gil Junger). Unlike its predecessor, “10 Things I Hate About Life” was never completed. Filming ceased after two months for reasons that differed depending on the source. Some reports suggested it was due to changes at the production company, while others claimed it was because star Evan Rachel Wood became pregnant. After the film was put on hold, a legal dispute ensued between Wood and the producers. So, perhaps there are now 11 things to add to one’s list of things to dislike about life.

Trick Or Treat

Michael Apted, the director known for films like the “Up” series, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” and “The World Is Not Enough,” initially started a movie focusing on a lesbian couple’s journey to have a child. However, he didn’t complete it. It is said that approximately 40 minutes of footage was captured before filming ceased, reportedly due to disagreements between the lead actress, Bianca Jagger, and producers regarding the level of explicit nudity and sexual content in the movie.

Wake

In his resume, Bruce Willis had an incomplete action movie titled “Wake,” which was intended to feature him as a character returning to his childhood home for his brother’s wake, following a sociopathic theme. Unfortunately, this project was one of many that have fallen victim to financial constraints, as production started but soon halted. The producers attempted to secure fresh funding, but when Bruce Willis and director John Pogue departed, it signaled the end of “Wake.

Who Killed Bambi?

In a bid to create a punk-rock version of “A Hard Day’s Night,” the Sex Pistols sought out director Russ Meyer, as they were avid fans of his movie “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.” Joining forces with Roger Ebert, who co-wrote the original film, Meyer penned a screenplay titled “Who Killed Bambi?” Inspired by an opening scene depicting a Mick Jagger-like rock star killing a deer with a bow and arrow, they began production. However, financial troubles, characteristic of the industry, intervened, causing the film to disintegrate before it could progress further. As a result, the identity of Bambi’s killer remains unknown.

Yellow Submarine (Remake)

Initially, Robert Zemeckis had plans to create a live-action remake of the Beatles’ iconic psychedelic animated film “Yellow Submarine,” but his series of failed motion capture projects such as “A Christmas Carol” and “Mars Needs Moms” led Disney to close down Zemeckis’ animation studio. Despite not being fully produced, sketches and animatics for the potential project can be found online.

2025-01-27 17:55