Kolma - J.J. Abrams Produced Film Starring Daisy Ridley

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Daisy Ridley to Star in J.J. Abrams-Produced Thriller Kolma

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens firmly established as one of the top-grossing movies ever, we can expect to see more and more from its young stars. As a launching pad for a career, actors could ask for little else besides the acclaim and name recognition that life in a galaxy far, far away can provide. Indeed, it didn’t take long for critics and fans to latch on to one name in particular from director J.J. Abrams’ take on the Star Wars universe: Daisy Ridley.

Ridley’s Rey quickly became the focal point for much of the praise of the latest entry into the franchise, receiving acclaim for her portrayal as the young Force user. Almost overnight, she went from relative unknown to worldwide superstar, leaving many wondering what the actress would be doing as a follow-up. While Ridley is currently in the middle of filming the next episode of Star Wars — which is sure to be another smash hit — that hasn’t stopped her from looking at other roles, one of which has just been confirmed.

THR is reporting that Ridley has signed on to star in the Abrams-produced supernatural thriller, Kolma. While this marks the second professional collaboration between Abrams and Ridley, Abrams won’t be directing this time around. That duty will apparently fall to Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl) who is currently also in talks with the producer to direct the script from writer Megan Holley (Sunshine Cleaning).

The film is said to be based on the 2003 Israeli TV movie All I’ve Got (Kol Ma She’Yesh Li) about a young woman whose boyfriend is killed in a car accident. When the girl dies decades later, she’s given the choice to return to life on the day of the accident to relive her life from that point forward or to be reunited with her long dead lover.

From the sound of things, this kind of story should fit well within Abrams’ wheelhouse. His output as a writer, a director, and a producer has always toyed with supernatural themes and Kolma sounds as though it does that. With Heller at the helm and Holley writing the script, you’ve got almost a perfect behind-the-scenes team to make this movie really shine both emotionally and stylistically.

For Ridley, this presents her with an excellent opportunity to display her chops in a way audiences have never seen before. At this stage of her career, she has had little exposure beyond roles in science fiction or action films, such as the upcoming reboot of Tomb Raider, for which Ridley is said to be in talks. While certainly the world could do with more badass females in science fiction roles, her performance in The Force Awakens shows a surprising depth for an actress her age.

Kolma has the potential to show audiences another side to the actress. This is a side somewhat familiar to British fans, who recognize Ridley from roles in series like Mr. Selfridge and Toast of London. While little else is known about the project so far, that Abrams was so quick to sign on Ridley is indicative of the trust she built over the course of her performance in The Force Awakens and bodes well for her future in the industry.

There are few other details about Kolma so far, and as of yet no other casting announcements have been made. The project is still in its earliest stages, however, and there’s certain to be more news coming down the pipeline. Screen Rant keep you posted on all developments as they arise.