Christopher Eccleston Joins Daisy Ridley In 'Young Woman And The Sea'

Actress Daisy Ridley has come good company joining her in her new movie, "The Young Woman and the Sea."

The "Star Wars" actress, who played Rey in the Disney sequel trilogy, will be joined by "Doctor Who" star Chris Eccleston. Eccleston played the Ninth incarnation of the Doctor during the 2005 reboot of the long-running science-fiction BBC series. Although he only portrayed the enigmatic Doctor for one season, he's been credited for introducing "Doctor Who" to a younger generation.

It seems that "Star Wars" will meet "Doctor Who" when the two actors meet on screen in the Disney+ movie "Young Woman and the Sea."

On Wednesday, Deadline reported that Eccleston will star in "Young Woman and the Sea," for which Ridley had already been cast. Tilda Cobham-Hervey and Stephen Graham are also set to star. The film will be directed by Joachim Rønning and is currently in production.

The film is based on the novel of the same name by Glenn Stout. The book tells the story of Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle, who is played by Daisy Ridley. In 1926, she became the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel. Ederle was the daughter of a German butcher from Manhattan who became a competitive swimmer that won the gold medal in the 1924 Olympic Games. Ederle first swam 22 miles from Battery Park, New York to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and set an 81-year record before she eventually attempted to cross the English Channel.

The screenplay was adapted by Jeff Nathanson. Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman are signed on as producers. Eccleston recently appeared in HBO's "The Leftovers" series and was last seen on stage as Macbeth in the Shakespeare play at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In late April, the “Chaos Walking” actress teased “A little midweek torture c/o @mattbevan_, who somehow manages to turn 20 seconds into 40 🤨” as she revealed some serious core work for her Instagram followers.

About a week later, she revealed that she was doing a lot of research for her new role.

“Research for ‘The Young Woman and the Sea’. 🏊‍♀️🗞Thrilled to be a part of this beautiful film and this incredible story,” Ridley wrote in the caption. “Slide 1. Trudy 👉🏻 2. still the biggest ticker tape parade in NY for any athlete! 👉🏻 3. ?!?!?! 👉🏻 4. ?!?!?!??!??!??”

The third slide shows a headline that reads “Girl Athletes Headed For Sex Extinction Says Scientist.” The fourth slide shows women at a protest holding up various signs. One sign says, “Women Athletes Are Not Good Mothers.” Another sign says, “Women Athletes Will Learn How To Cook And Sew.”

“Omg. #3 and #4 🤯 Well, this woman athlete can't wait to see the film!” one fan commented. “So glad you're in it, Daisy. Congrats! You'll be amazing, as always ❤️”

“That last slide is full of so much jealousy and internalized misogyny it hurts,” another fan wrote.

“Congrats Daisy!! Your talent doesn't have any limit. Proud of you 🙌 and thank u for let us be part of your amazing art,” said another.

One lucky user wrote, “I am one of the extras for the film, we will shoot tomorrow. 🤩” They later added, “It took 13+ hours haha, but Daisy was 2 steps away from me and I talked a bit with Joachim Ronning, which was greeat! 🤩”