EXCLUSIVE: Star Wars vets Daisy Ridley and Alden Ehrenreich are starring in Donald Petrie’s Philippines set romantic comedy, The Last Resort which Asia Pacific Films is producing and financing.
Production begins in April. CAA Media Finance is handling worldwide distribution rights.
The Karen McCullah (Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You) penned script follows Brooke (Ridley), who is determined to prove herself worthy of running her father’s hotel empire. She travels to the Philippines to scout a new resort location. There, she meets Ben (Ehrenreich), a charming expatriate pilot who helps her discover the beauty of the country—and a newfound sense of freedom. As love and duty collide, Brooke must choose between the life she’s built and the one she’s only just begun to love. Petrie has directed such rom com hits as Miss Congeniality and How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. He also directed the late Gene Hackman’s swan song Welcome to Mooseport.
Manuel V. Pangilinan serves as Executive Producer of the film, which is produced by Ernesto (Bong) Sta. Maria. Jr. (Rosario), and Raja Collins (True Memoirs of an International Assassin, The Wrath of Becky). Simon Heo, Akshay Mehta and Rick Dugdale as Co-Producers.
Ridley was just at SXSW for the stateside premiere of Zak Hilditch’s zombie survival thriller, We Bury the Dead; watch our interview with her below. She was also at SXSW last year for the noir thriller, Magpie, based on an original story that she developed. She also won rave reviews last year for her turn as Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel in Young Woman and the Sea (88% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Other credits include Martin Campbell’s London-set action-thriller Cleaner and the Sundance film, Sometimes I Think About Dying, which she starred in and produced. Last year, Ridley was recognized for her dynamic roles in cinema, receiving both the Rising Star Award at the Deauville Film Festival and the Lumiere Award at the SCAD Film Festival. She is known for playing the Jedi Rey in Star Wars, Episodes VII-IX, that trio of pics grossing $4.4 billion at the global box office. She’s set to reprise her role as Rey in the upcoming Star Wars: New Jedi Order.
Ehrenreich is currently shooting the feature, Switzerland, opposite Helen Mirren for Film Nation. He most recently wrapped a starring role in Zach Cregger’s New Line Cinema feature Weapons which is currently scheduled for MLK weekend 2026. Next up, Ehrenreich will be seen starring in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming limited series Ironheart, a spinoff of the critically acclaimed Black Panther films. Last year, Ehrenreich starred in Universal’s box office hit, Cocaine Bear opposite Keri Russell, Ray Liotta, and O’Shea Jackson and directed by Elizabeth Banks, as well as Christopher Nolan’s multi Oscar winning Oppenheimer which grossed $975.8M worldwide. He also starred alongside Phoebe Dynevor in the highly praised Fair Play which was acquired by Netflix out of Sundance, and went on to debut to No. 1 on the streamer, amassing 12.6M views in the first 3 days on the streamer.
Ridley is represented by CAA, Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern and Narrative, Ehrenreich is represented by CAA and Linden Entertainment. The deal was negotiated by Glenn Feig of Reder & Feig LLP on behalf of the filmmakers.
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