The First Look at 'Young Woman & the Sea' Sees Daisy Ridley Prepare to Make History

Sports are so popular precisely because they remind us of the best humanity is capable of: Impressive feats of athletic prowess and sportsmanship, tales of underdogs triumphing against long odds, and trailblazing figures who become heroes to the rest of us for breaking barriers. However, one of the most impressive athletes in history is a woman you may have never heard of. Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle was the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926. But the feature film Young Woman and the Sea aims to change all that. 

It stars Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) as Ederle, the daughter of German immigrants and a member of the U.S. swim team that won gold at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris in the 4x100 relay. (She also took home a pair of bronze medals in individual events herself). She turned professional in 1925, and that same year she successfully swam from Battery Park, New York to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and set a record that would stand for 81 years. 

In 1926, she decided to take on a new challenge and cross the English Channel, a feat that at that point had never been attempted by a woman. She financed her quest by contracting with two newspapers --- the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune --- and selling her story. Though Ederle's first attempt failed, her second, in which she was coached by Bill Burgess, who had himself successfully crossed in 1911, saw her swim the Channel's 21 miles in fourteen and a half hours, beating the fastest man’s existing record by nearly two hours. It was the first time in sporting history that a woman had completed an event in a faster time than a man

"The most surprising thing about this story is how few people know what Trudy did," Ridley said in a statement. "What she accomplished was not only a personal achievement, but groundbreaking for women in sport. I’m excited for people to see this film in all its beauty and experience this journey, with all its difficulty and hope and ultimately joy,"

Alongside Ridley, the film boasts an all-star ensemble that includes Christopher Eccleston (True Detective: Night Country), Kim Bodnia (Killing Eve), Stephen Graham (A Thousand Blows), Tilda Cobham-Hervey (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) and Glenn Fleshler (Billions).

Originally slated to be released on Disney+, Young Woman and the Sea reportedly scored so highly with test audiences that the film is being granted a limited theatrical run in May before it arrives on streaming later in the summer. According to Deadline, the premiere window will likely be tied in some way to the Summer Olympics, given the inspirational sports angle of the story. 

Here's the description. 

The upcoming film will star Daisy Ridley as the accomplished swimmer who was born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the staggering achievement – a 21-mile trek from France to England.

Based on the book Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World by Glenn Stout, the film is written by Jeff Nathanson (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) and directed by Joachim Rønning (Tron: Ares).  Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman are executive producers. 

"As a father of two teenage daughters, I really wanted to make a film that resonated with them, about a girl that changed the world," Rønning said.

Young Woman and the Sea will premiere in select theaters on May 31.