That is your biannual reminder that the unbiased choices of Daisy Ridley deserve your consideration. Whereas she patiently awaits Disney and Lucasfilm’s subsequent transfer with regard to Star Wars, Ridley has been releasing a pair well-received indies per yr, save for Disney’s extremely acclaimed sports activities biopic, Younger Girl and the Sea (2024). On Jan. 2, Ridley kicks off the brand new yr with one other well-regarded movie in We Bury the Lifeless.
Zak Hilditch’s contemplative zombie thriller, which premiered at 2025’s South by Southwest, chronicles Ava Newman (Ridley) as she journeys from America to Tasmania in hopes of discovering her husband alive. The U.S. army botched a close-by weapons check that obliterated the inhabitants of Tasmania, creating both a pile of useless our bodies or zombies that step by step turn into extra aggressive. Ava’s husband, Mitch, had the misfortune of being on a piece retreat there on the similar time.
Ava’s marriage was already on the rocks. Her and her husband’s wrestle to conceive a baby slowly chipped away at their union, so she is solely searching for closure in no matter type it takes. Ridley finally channeled individuals in her life who had been going by related fertility challenges as her character.
“I knew a pair those who had been going by IVF on the time. It will possibly take a toll emotionally and bodily on ladies, but additionally on their relationships whereas they’re going by it. So that really felt actually [palpable] on the time [of We Bury the Dead],” Ridley tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I understood that feeling of wanting one thing a lot, and the way troublesome that may be, in a means that I by no means had earlier than.”
In Could of 2025, Ridley wrapped her first romantic comedy reverse none apart from Solo: A Star Wars Story star Alden Ehrenreich. She practically labored with the embryonic Han Solo towards the start of their Star Wars careers a decade in the past, so the Phillipines-set The Final Resort is a very long time coming for the Lucasfilm stablemates.
“I signed onto [The Last Resort] earlier than I knew Alden was doing it. Alden and I had been presupposed to do a film collectively ten years in the past. It ended up not occurring, however we grew to become buddies, so I used to be actually thrilled when he got here on,” Ridley says.
Ridley and Ehrenreich’s promotion of The Final Resort will undoubtedly result in some awkward Star Wars questions, however Ridley’s husband, Tom Bateman, has them each beat. In August, he wrapped his personal romcom referred to as The Love Speculation, which relies on Ali Hazelwood’s novel of the identical title. The twist is that the guide was born out of fan fiction that centered on his spouse’s Star Wars character, Rey, and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren. Bateman’s character is even named Adam after Driver.
“To be clear, Tom didn’t know that [The Love Hypothesis] was fan fiction, and I didn’t keep in mind that it was fan fiction. So he had a variety of auditions, after which he was informed when he bought the half that it was fan fiction, which was information to him,” Ridley shares. “I suppose he informed me, however I don’t suppose I put two and two collectively. It wasn’t till we bought to Montreal [for filming] that somebody once more stated that it was fan fiction, and I used to be like, ‘Huh.’ So I’m actually wanting ahead to seeing the movie. Sources say that it’s excellent.”
Under, throughout a latest dialog with THR, Ridley additionally discusses the following collaboration between her and Bateman following 2024’s Magpie, in addition to her favourite movie of 2025.
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Ava is an American who’s doing volunteer useless physique retrieval in Tasmania, and he or she’s singled out at instances for being a “Yank.” With the vast majority of We Bury the Lifeless’s forged and crew being Australian, did you additionally really feel like a fish out of water?
what? I’ve by no means felt extra part of issues. Truly, no, I’ve felt this part of issues earlier than, however this was nonetheless a very, actually great expertise. So I felt a lot within the cloth of all the pieces, and I didn’t really feel like a fish out of water. It was actually beautiful.
Daisy Ridley as Ava in We Bury The Lifeless
Courtesy of Vertical
After enjoying moms in The Marsh King’s Daughter and Magpie, do you suppose that context was useful for this girl who’d desperately been making an attempt to get to that place?
I knew a pair those who had been going by IVF on the time. It was one thing that I had [previously] examine and heard about, however I didn’t know individuals [until then] that had been actually having that have. It will possibly take a toll emotionally and bodily on ladies, but additionally on their relationships whereas they’re going by it. So that really felt actually [palpable] on the time. I understood that feeling of wanting one thing a lot, and the way troublesome that may be, in a means that I by no means had earlier than, and that was actually what I used to be holding onto in enjoying her.
Probably the most unsettling scene isn’t with a zombie; it’s with a soldier (Mark Coles Smith’s Riley). You’re used to enjoying different individuals, however not like that. Did any of these disturbing circumstances creep into your psyche in any respect? Or does your work typically not comply with you residence?
I typically don’t take my work residence with me, however there have been issues that weren’t scripted that ended up occurring throughout that sequence. Originally of all of that, Ava is actually listening to Riley, and he or she’s actually understanding in some ways the place he’s coming from. There’s a desperation to his grief that feels extra obvious than Ava’s, however they’re additionally mirroring one another in some methods. It then takes that very unusual, creepy flip. So, within the working out, I needed to slam the door, after which I screamed a pair issues that weren’t scripted as a result of the sensation was excessive. However then you definitely minimize, and it’s nice, and you progress on. However that sequence actually felt correctly scary within the second.
Daisy Ridley as Ava in We Bury The Lifeless
Courtesy of Vertical
In my thoughts, one of many defining photographs of you is your emotional audition video for Star Wars: The Pressure Awakens over a decade in the past. When you must cry on display now, one thing you do a number of instances in We Bury the Lifeless, is it much like a lightweight change? Are you able to simply flip it on and off?
No, under no circumstances. For me, crying isn’t at all times the way in which we present unhappiness. So when it got here to We Bury the Lifeless, I didn’t know what a few of these scenes would find yourself being. I are likely to ignore stage instructions anyway since you simply don’t know till you’re there. However I actually didn’t know the way a number of the scenes on this movie had been going to go, and that’s actually a testomony to [writer-director] Zak [Hilditch] and the wonderful forged and crew. We felt very protected and really open to see what occurred within the second.
I can at all times inform that you’ve a spidey sense for when the Star Wars questions are about to start out, and also you’re at all times a very good sport about it. That being stated, once you had been weighing your upcoming Philippines-set film (The Final Resort) with Alden Ehrenreich, how a lot did the inevitable Star Wars questions have an effect on your determination?
(Laughs.) Hilarious. Properly, I signed onto that earlier than I knew Alden was doing it. Alden and I had been presupposed to do a film collectively ten years in the past. It ended up not occurring, however we grew to become buddies, so I used to be actually thrilled when he got here on.
That must be a enjoyable press cycle.
(Laughs.) Yeah.
Alden’s fictional son, Ben Solo, made headlines just lately. The Hunt for Ben Solo was each information and previous information to you on the similar time?
Yeah, I hear issues. I’ve bought my ear to the bottom.
You stated that Adam Driver volunteering that info was the largest shock of the yr, and also you’re proper, he’s normally very reluctant to speak about Star Wars.
(Laughs.) Yeah.
Was the second largest shock of the yr when the author of Magpie (Ridley’s husband, Tom Bateman) stated he was going to be performing in a film that started as fan fiction about Rey and Kylo Ren?
(Laughs.) To be clear, Tom didn’t know that [The Love Hypothesis] was fan fiction, and I didn’t keep in mind that it was fan fiction. So he had a variety of auditions, after which he was informed when he bought the half that it was fan fiction, which was information to him. I suppose he informed me, however I don’t suppose I put two and two collectively. It wasn’t till we bought to Montreal [for filming] that somebody once more stated that it was fan fiction, and I used to be like, “Huh.” So I’m actually wanting ahead to seeing the movie. Sources say that it’s excellent, and I feel will probably be actually charming and actually enjoyable.
So far as a Magpie follow-up, no matter that could be, has Tom been delivering pages to you pretty usually?
Oh yeah. We’ve one thing that we’re at present out to for somebody to direct, which is improbable. He has two or three different scripts which can be able to go. I additionally learn the primary draft of one thing that he simply did, which is wonderful. So he’s at present engaged on that now.
There’s a sample in your work that started with Rey ten years in the past, and it continues all over Ava in We Bury the Lifeless. You usually play characters who’re both lonely or alone for extended stretches. What do you make of that pattern?
I don’t know. I suppose there will be a number of drama in that. However I’ve by no means had a plan of what I need to do subsequent. I’m simply drawn to what I’m drawn to, and the movies that I’ve been drawn to, I’ve completely cherished engaged on them. The Final Resort, which I made with Alden, actually does buck that [loneliness] pattern. I bought to be round individuals. I imply, there is a component of loneliness to the individual I play in that, however she actually finds a lot pleasure within the individuals round her. So it was actually enjoyable to try this.
It’s the tip of the yr, and individuals are releasing their lists of favorites. What movie grabbed you essentially the most this yr?
The film of the yr for me is Prepare Goals. However I’ll say that I’ve not seen Hamnet, which I can’t look forward to. I’ve not seen Sentimental Worth, which I can’t look forward to. So I’ve seen screenings of a number of films these days, and whereas I’ve cherished a number of stuff, Prepare Goals is actually the one which bought me. Ugh, it’s only a great, great film.
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We Bury the Lifeless opens in cinemas on January 2.