The Marsh King’s Daughter: Daisy Ridley to headline Neil Burger thriller

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Star Wars star Daisy Ridley will trade her lightsaber for a pair of running shoes when she stars in The Marsh King’s Daughter. Based on the acclaimed psychological-thriller novel by Karen Dionne, the story revolves around Helena (Ridley), a woman living a seemingly ordinary life, but hiding a dark secret: her father is the infamous “Marsh King,” the man who kept her and her mother captive in the wilderness for years. After a lifetime of trying to escape her past, Helena is forced to face her demons when her father unexpectedly escapes from prison.

Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent) is set to direct the adaptation, which hails from Black Bear, Anonymous Content, and STX International. Adapting the film for the silver screen is The Revenant screenwriter Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith. Meanwhile, production is being handled by Black Bear Pictures’ Teddy Schwarzman, Anonymous Content’s Keith Redmon, and Mark L. Smith.

Up next for Ridley is a starring role opposite Tom Holland in Chaos Walking. Directed by Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, Swingers), the film takes place in a dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise. Mads Mikkelsen, Ray McKinnon, Nick Jonas, Demián Bichir, Cynthia Erivo, David Oyelowo, and Kurt Sutter also star, among others.

Delayed several times due to the pandemic, Chaos Walking is scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 5. The sci-fi thriller is based on the book “The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Pattrick Ness, who wrote the screenplay with Christopher Ford.