We Bury the Dead: Daisy Ridley to star in thriller about grief, loss, and the undead

Star Wars sequel trilogy star Daisy Ridley is set to return to the Star Wars universe for another film that is meant to launch “the next chapter” of the franchise – but before she picks up Rey’s lightsaber again, Deadline reports that Ridley will be starring in We Bury the Dead, a survival thriller from Zak Hilditch, the director of the Stephen King adaptation 1922 (which featured an incredible performance from star Thomas Jane).

Scripted by Hilditch, We Bury the Dead is said to be “a story about grief, loss, and the undead.” Ridley will be taking on the role of Ava, a desperate woman whose husband is missing in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment. Hoping to find him alive, Ava joins a “body retrieval unit,” but her search takes a chilling turn when the corpses she’s burying start showing signs of life.

The project has been fully financed by Screen Australia, Screenwest, Lotterywest, the WA Regional Screen Fund, and Gramercy Park Media. It will comply with the terms of the MEAA / SAG-AFTRA agreement as part of Global Rule One, and therefore will be able to begin filming in Western Australia in February of 2024, whether or not the Screen Actors Guild strike has come to an end by then.

We Bury the Dead is being produced by Kelvin Munro and Grant Sputore of The Penguin Empire, as well as Ross Dinerstein of Campfire Studios and Joshua Harris and Mark Fasano of Gramercy Park Media. Nathan Klingher and Ford Corbett are executive producing.

Australian distribution has already been secured with Umbrella Entertainment. Neon and UTA Independent Film Group will be handling international and domestic sales at the American Film Market.

Sputore provided the following statement: “We’re thrilled to join forces with Zak and Campfire on this project. Zak is uniquely gifted when it comes to making movies that are just as moving as they are terrifying. Bringing one of his projects to our home state of Western Australia is especially exciting.“

Dinerstein added: “Zak is an immensely talented storyteller, and we’re ecstatic to reteam for our third feature together. With the brilliant Daisy Ridley onboard and Zak’s spectacularly unnerving and poignant script, we can’t wait to dig into production and bring this film to audiences.“

And Hilditch had this to say: “Having Daisy play the role of Ava is an absolute dream come true. She embodies the perfect mix of vulnerability, grit, and determination that Ava exudes throughout the film.“

Does We Bury the Dead sound interesting to you? What do you think of Daisy Ridley starring in a story of the undead? Let us know by leaving a comment below.