First announced back in 2020, it feels like a long time coming for Disney’s true sports drama, Young Woman and the Sea. The Daisy Ridley-led film was revealed at CinemaCon, where producer Jerry Bruckheimer, y’know the guy behind Pirates of the Caribbean and Top Gun, revealed (via Indiewire) that it received the highest test audience scores of his career. That’s saying a lot.
The film stars Ridley as Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle, the Olympic swimmer who in 1926 became the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel. But that’s not all. Her times were the fastest ever on record, even better than the five men who preceded her.
Behind the camera is Joachim Rønning and written by Jeff Nathanson. Rønning is someone Bruckheimer and Disney know very well, having worked together on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. He also directed Bandidas and Oscar winner Kon-Tiki.
Ridley is joined in the cast by Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia, Christopher Eccleston, and Glenn Fleshler.
Here’s the synopsis: Daisy Ridley stars 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.
Young Woman and the Sea opens in select theaters on May 31st.
