Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker aimed to conclude Disney’s Sequel Trilogy in a satisfying way while paying homage to the saga as a whole, but the movie ultimately turned out to be just as divisive and controversial as its predecessor.
When The Last Jedi came out in December 2017, many fans were outraged at Rian Johnson’s bold approach in taking the franchise to uncharted waters. The journey of Luke Skywalker, from a depressed failure to the hero that we’ve all come to know and love, the matter of Rey’s parentage, and Snoke’s identity were just a few things that managed to rile the fandom up. The Rise of Skywalker, meanwhile, backtracked from almost every decision that Rian made in the previous pic, though J.J. Abrams himself has dismissed this idea as absurd.
Nonetheless, the signs of Lucasfilm’s attempt to correct the course of the franchise and cater to fan opinions are all over the place. For instance, many people hated the character of Rose Tico, played by Kelly Marie Tran, and they were pretty vocal about it, too, compelling the actress to quit social media and go to therapy. Rose actually played an important part in the narrative of Episode VIII, but as you know, the last installment in the Skywalker Saga didn’t dedicate much screen time to further develop this character, leaving fans to wonder whether the filmmakers did it on purpose.
Well, the actress herself has finally broken her silence on this controversial aspect of Abrams’ pic while attending the Academy Awards last night.
When asked if she was satisfied with the role of her character in the last movie, she said:
“I mean, I think that I’m really just amazed at how JJ was able to sort of wrap up all of these incredible stories. There were so many characters and at the end of the day I got to be part of something so much bigger than me so that’s special.”
As for what she learned from her experience after the reception to The Last Jedi, Tran had the following to say.
“Last Jedi was my first movie so I think I’m finally starting to realize that when you’re in something of that caliber, there’s so many people working to make something out of love and, no matter what you do, there’s always going to be people who aren’t happy with that. I think that the best lesson I’ve learned is just to have fun and be present in the moment. So, I’m really grateful that I got to be a part of it.”
While it’s true that the backlash against young actors for playing in such movies is incomprehensibly stupid, the stars of a galaxy far, far away have always had to deal with this issue, and it’s good to hear that Tran has finally found a way to cope with the unwanted controversy.
Tell us, though, what did you think about Rose Tico’s role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Did the filmmakers make the right choice? Let us know in the comments down below.