Daisy Ridley to star in Young Woman and The Sea for Disney+

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

On August 6, 1926, Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle became the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel, and Deadline has reported that Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) is set to play the Queen of the Waves in a new drama to be directed by Joaquim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) for the Disney+ streaming service.

Young Woman and The Sea will be scripted by Jeff Nathanson (The Lion King), who first became involved in the project over five years ago when it was set up at Paramount. Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman are slated to produce the project, with production looking to kick off mid-2021. Gertrude Ederle was a competitive swimmer from Manhattan who won gold at the 1924 Olympics. Prior to embarking on her history-making crossing of the English Channel, Ederle swan 22 miles from Battery Park in New York to Sandy Hook in New Jersey in just 7 hours and 11 minutes, a record that stood for over 80s years. This feat allowed Ederle to finance her English Channel crossing.

"There was actually a race among women who would be first to cross as only five men had done so before," reads Deadline's description. "She did it with help from her family: with sister Meg, she constructed a two-piece swimsuit — unheard of in the 1920s when skirt lengths were below the knee and ordinary swimsuits looked like summer dresses. They also used candle wax to seal her goggles to make them leak-proof. All this helped only so much as she struggled against waves, winds and treacherous waters to become world famous when she reached shore. She had shattered centuries of female stereotypes and was given a ticker-tape parade upon her return to New York, where 2 million cheered her. Her feat was largely forgotten soon after, as the world moved on."

Daisy Ridley will next be seen starring alongside Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Far From Home) in Chaos Walking, a sci-fi action/adventure film directed by Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow). "In the not too distant future, Todd Hewitt (Holland) discovers Viola (Ridley), a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by "the Noise" – a force that puts all their thoughts on display," reads the official synopsis. "In this dangerous landscape, Viola's life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet's dark secrets." Chaos Walking is currently slated to be released on January 22, 2021.