Daisy Ridley cast in We Bury the Dead

Daisy Ridley is to star in 'We Bury the Dead'.

The 31-year-old actress has been cast in the survival thriller from director Zak Hilditch.

Daisy plays the role of Ava – a desperate woman whose husband is missing after a catastrophic military experiment – in the film.

In the hope of finding him alive, Ava joins a 'body retrieval unit', but her search takes a frightening turn when the corpses she buries begin to show signs of life.

'We Bury the Dead' is written and directed by Hilditch and is produced by The Penguin Empire's Kelvin Munro and Grant Sputore along with Ross Dinerstein of Campfire Studios. Filming is set to commence in Western Australia in February 2024.

The filmmaker said: "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."

Ridley played the role of Rey in the 'Star Wars' sequel trilogy and it was revealed at 'Star Wars Celebration' in London earlier this year that she would be reprising the part in a new movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

The upcoming picture will be set 15 years after the 2019 flick 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' and the filmmaker explained that it will "tell the story of rebuilding the New Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down".

Obaid-Chinoy added that she had been immersing herself in the project with a "powerful Jedi master" as Daisy walked out on stage.

She said: "My heart is pounding. I'm very thrilled to be continuing this journey."