DEDICATION: Daisy Ridley Headlines New Martin Campbell Action Thriller For Q2 2025 Shoot

Daisy Ridley (the Star Wars franchise, Young Woman and the Sea, Magpie) will star in Dedication, a new action thriller from director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, GoldenEye). Highland Film Group is co-financing the pic and handling international sales at the AFM in Las Vegas this week, as production readies for a Spring 2025 shoot in the Philippines and Europe.

Campbell will direct from a screenplay by Dan Gordon (Wyatt Earp, The Hurricane) which centers on Major Billie Jean Parker (Ridley), a decorated Marine Corps commander relieved of duty after a high-stakes mission in the Philippines results in civilian casualties, despite capturing anarchist leader Omar Romatas. Facing the loss of her career, she visits her dying father, Clyde, a former Marine, who asks her to attend a dedication ceremony for a school building named in his honor. The event takes a deadly turn when Omar Romatas’s vengeful son, Bento, launches an assault, taking hostages. Forced back into combat, Billie Jean sets traps and executes precise strikes to outwit the attackers. Her tactical instincts and ruthless efficiency shift the fight, as she confronts her past and proves her worth in a relentless battle that will define her legacy.

Dedication is produced by Gemstone Films Ltd., Phil Hunt (Tar, Talk to Me), Valentin Dimitrov (The Hitman’s Bodyguard), and Sagiv Diamant (We Die Young). Highland’s Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier are exec producing next to Gaby Whyte Hart who also serves as the casting director.

CAA Media Finance is representing domestic rights.

“What a thrill to collaborate with a director of Martin Campbell’s pedigree whose eye for big-scale action was on spectacular display in the Bond franchise. Daisy Ridley will perfectly embody the multiple facets of a fallen war hero who is forced into combat mode one last time,” said Highland CEO Fraser. 

“It’s fantastic to have Martin and Daisy teaming up again for Dedication. Martin is the ideal director to bring Dan Gordon’s complex and electrifying script to life. It’s a riveting story loaded with engaging characters and we look forward to introducing this powerful adventure to our global partners,” added Highland COO Perrier.

Daisy Ridley is most recognized for her breakthrough role in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and subsequent installments: Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi and Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. Ridley can currently be seen starring in the feature film Magpie, based on a story she developed and produced. She also earned acclaim for her roles in Young Woman and the Sea, which she executive produced, and Sometimes I Think About Dying.

Ridley recently completed filming on two productions, the first being We Bury The Dead. The Zak Hilditch-directed survival thriller sees Daisy as Ava, a desperate woman whose husband is missing in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment. The second is Campbell’s London-set action thriller, Cleaner alongside Clive Owen, in which Ridley plays Joey Locke, an ex-solider turned window cleaner who is sprung into saving hundreds of hostages after a group of activists ambush an energy company’s annual meeting at the Shard.    

Campbell is credited with twice rejuvenating the James Bond franchise when he directed Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as the famed British spy in MGM/UA’s GoldenEye, and then directing Daniel Craig’s debut Bond feature, Columbia Pictures’ Casino Royale. His other directing credits include Warner Bros.’ Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively; Tri-Star Pictures’ The Mask of Zorro which earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and launched the international careers of Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones; and Columbia Pictures’ Vertical Limit which was a critical and box office hit; Columbia Pictures’ No Escape and Paramount’s epic romance Beyond Borders starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen. 

Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes Chuck Russell’s horror-thriller Witchboard; action crime thriller Wardriver starring Dane DeHaan and Sasha Calle; John Stalberg, Jr.’s Muzzle: City of Wolves starring Aaron Eckhart; Allan Ungar’s action comedy London Calling starring Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor; and Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel.

Ridley is repped by CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern and Narrative. Campbell is repped by CAA.  

Lead photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons