Originally published July 27, 2018
It is officially confirmed that actor Kelly Marie Tran will be reprising her role as Rose Tico for the final film of the STAR WARS sequel trilogy. StarWars.com made the official announcement today regarding who’s returning and who’s coming on board, and Tran’s name was among the former.
Tran is the first Asian American actor to play a lead in the STAR WARS film franchise, when she made her first appearance in THE LAST JEDI. However, in the heat of the divisive responses to the film, she experienced the worst of it in the form of sexist and racist comments from online bullies. As a result, she took down all her posts off of Instagram and has not been online since.
Even before the backlash, Tran was unsure of whether she’d be returning for the ninth film or not, and with months going by without a word regarding her involvement, her future with the franchise started to look very uncertain. That was why it was such a thrill to at last see her name as part of today’s announcement; and it hasn’t even been a week since the #RallyForRose happened at San Diego Comic-Con.
Tran is joined by fellow returning co-stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd, newcomers Naomi Ackie, Keri Russell, and Richard E. Grant, and veteran actors Mark Hamill (yes, really!), Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams. The late Carrie Fisher is also set to appear in the film, by way of unreleased footage originally shot for THE FORCE AWAKENS.
STAR WARS EPISODE IX will start filming next Wednesday at Pinewood Studios in London and is set to be released in theaters December 2019.
Drifting Back Around 