Kelly Marie Tran has joined the Resistance. The actress-comedian “has the biggest new part” — the character Rose — in the highly-anticipated “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Variety reports.
The news originally broke at “The Last Jedi” panel at the “Star Wars” Celebration, a recent fan gathering in Orlando, Florida. Rose is “part of the Resistance, and she works in maintenance,” Tran said of her character.
“Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson stressed that, in “Star Wars” tradition, Rose is an average person who proves herself under extraordinary circumstances. “This possibility that any of us could step up and become a hero, that’s where Rose comes from,” Johnson observed. “She’s not a soldier, she’s not looking to be a hero. But she gets pulled into a very big adventure with Finn [John Boyega].”
“She’s pretty rad,” he concluded.
That’s about all we — or anyone outside “The Last Jedi’s” cast and crew — know about Rose. Even longtime “Star Wars” fan Tran was forced to hid her role from her family. “They didn’t know for four months,” she revealed at the panel. “I told them I was doing an indie movie in Canada. At one point, I actually got some maple syrup so I could bring it back to them so they actually thought I was in Canada.”
Tran is best known for her digital shorts. Her biggest hit is the web series “Ladies Like Us,” a surreal take on an all-girl improv troupe. Among Tran’s other credits are CollegeHumor Originals, “Adam Ruins Everything,” and “XOXO.”
“The Last Jedi” hits theaters December 15 and will continue telling Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) story. The official synopsis reads: “Having taken her first steps into a larger world in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ Rey continues her epic journey with Finn (Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the next chapter of the saga.”
This is the third consecutive “Star Wars” pic with a female lead. “The Force Awakens” opened in December 2015 and grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. Last year’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” starred Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso. The standalone film raked in more than $1 billion globally.
