Daisy Ridley set to play the lead role in Disney+ film Young Woman and the Sea … about the first female to swim the English Channel
Daisy Ridley is set to play the role of Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle – who was the first female to swim the English Channel in 1926 – in an upcoming movie for Disney+ titled Young Woman and the Sea.
The 28-year-old star is linked to the project, which is also in talks with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil filmmaker Joaquim Rønning to direct, Deadline reported Tuesday.
Producers on the project are Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman; according to the outlet, Paramount originally was tied to the project until Bruckheimer took it to Disney, which he worked on Pirates of the Caribbean with.
The latest: Daisy Ridley, 28, is set to play the role of Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle – who was the first female to swim the English Channel in 1926 – in an upcoming movie for Disney+ titled Young Woman and the Sea
Rønning has past been in the director’s chair for aquatic films including Kon-Tiki (2012) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).
The script for the film is penned by Jeff Nathanson, who has also written the aforementioned Pirates film, as well as the movies Catch Me if You Can and The Terminal, among others.
Bruckheimer is looking at beginning production in the second quarter of next year, according to the outlet.
Ridley will play Ederle, an Olympics gold medalist who was feted with a parade in her native New York when she successfully completed the task, which only five people had previously done before.
Ready to go: The Star Wars actress is linked to the project, which is also in talks with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil filmmaker Joaquim Rønning to direct. She was snapped earlier this year in London
Stunning: Ridley was snapped in London last year for the BAFTA Awards
The London native, who portrayed the role of Rey in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, spoke with IGN last month about some of the chilly reception on social media to the third film in the trilogy, which hit theaters last December.
‘You know, everyone’s entitled to not like something, but it feels like it’s changed slightly, but I think in general that’s because social media and what have you,’ Ridley said. ‘I guess now conversations are just more public, so there’s stuff I wouldn’t have seen …
‘But honestly trying to scroll through my newsfeed in January and trying to not see Star Wars stuff, I’d see headlines and be like “Oh my God this is so upsetting. So it’s been tricky.”‘