Magpie: release date, trailer, cast and everything we know about the Daisy Ridley thriller

Daisy Ridley in Magpie
Daisy Ridley in Magpie (Image credit: Shout! Studios)

Daisy Ridley is set to return to a galaxy far, far away in the near future, but in the meantime she has been starring in a slate of movies that challenge the young actress in different ways. The latest such example is Magpie, a thriller that has been garnering some solid buzz for Ridley's performance.

The 2024 new movie is coming from a smaller studio (Shout! Studios, which was behind The Dead Don't Hurt earlier this year) and doesn't have the immediate name recognition of the other fall movies. But a thriller with a reported strong performance from Ridley could make it a under-the-radar gem amid everything else coming out over the next few months.

Read on to find out more about Magpie.

Magpie release date

Magpie premieres exclusively in US movie theaters on October 25. It is expected to premiere in the UK and Ireland on an as-yet announced date.

Magpie originally premiered at the 2024 South by Southwest Film Festival.

Also premiering on October 25 is the superhero movie Venom: The Last Dance and the Ralph Fiennes movie Conclave.

Magpie cast

Ridley stars in Magpie as Anette. As mentioned, this is Ridley’s third movie hitting screens in 2024, the other two were Sometimes I Think About Dying and Young Woman and the Sea. She is of course best known for portraying Rey in the new Star Wars movies, a role she will be reprising in an upcoming movie right now expected in 2026.

Playing Anette's husband Ben is Shazad Latiff. Viewers will know him from Star Trek: Discovery, Toast of Tinseltown and What's Love Got to Do With It.

Rounding out the love triangle at the center of Magpie is Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, who is playing the movie star Alicia. Lutz has previously starred in the Netflix crime thriller Reptile, the the TV series and The Substance director Coralie Fargeat's debut movie The Revenge.

Magpie plot

Written by Tom Bateman, here is the official synopsis for Magpie:

"Magpie is a stylish neo-noir thriller centered on married couple Anette and Ben, whose lives begin to fracture when their daughter is cast alongside a glamorous movie star, Alicia. As Anette's suspicions of Ben's infatuation with Alicia intensify, their secrets and lies threaten to burst to the surface and destroy them all."

Magpie trailer

Watch the trailer for Magpie right here:

Magpie - Official Trailer | ONLY IN THEATERS OCTOBER 25 - YouTube Magpie - Official Trailer | ONLY IN THEATERS OCTOBER 25 - YouTube
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Magpie reviews

Having premiered at South by Southwest, there are some reviews already available for the movie, allowing for Magpie to be "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes as of September 23. One of the reviews, from Collider, called Ridley's performance one of her best to date. 

Magpie director

Magpie is serving as the feature directorial debut for Sam Yates, though he is no stranger to high profile projects. His 2016 short The Hope Rooms featured Ciaran Hinds and Andrew Scott. He also directed a stage production of Uncle Vanya, retitled just Vanya, that was shown on screen and again featured Andrew Scott. 

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.