The next 'Star Wars' movie to feature a new female character who steps and becomes a hero!
The largely testosterone-fuelled Star Wars movie franchise has added an important new female character in the eighth film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, director Rian Johnson said on Friday at a fanfest in Orlando. Johnson said the movie, scheduled for release in December, is still in post-production.
Kelly Marie Tran plays Rose, a maintenance worker in the Resistance. Johnson said her character embodies the notion that even the most unlikely person can step up and become a hero. He said her part is the biggest new role in the film.
Johnson teased at the possibility of Rose and Finn pairing. He added, "She's not a soldier, she's not looking to be a hero. But she does gets pulled into a very big adventure with Finn."
Johnson said that Luke Skywalker and Rey are the people cut from that very same cloth. With Rose's story, Johnson is trying to say that anyone can step up and become a hero.
Kelly Marie Tran is known for guest appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! But her moment of recognition came with 2013 web series Ladies Like Us, reports Entertainment Weekly.
Tran's character introduction at the panel in Orlando was as adorable as they come. The other new characters played by Laura Dern and Benicio del Toro are still under wraps.
Lucasfilm also live-streamed the first movie trailer to fans worldwide. It features Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, wielding a lightsaber under the guidance of Luke Skywalker who tells her that it's time for the Jedi to end.
Ridley was brought into the franchise in the seventh movie, The Force Awakens, as a lead character. Fans have been expecting Lucasfilm to add more females to the cast.
The movie poster shows Rey in an intense red background pointing her light sabre skyward, the beam dividing images of Skywalker and Kylo Ren. The poster harkens back to the poster for the first Star Wars film in 1977 in which Luke Skywalker similarly pointed the beam up.
The movie stars were on hand during the 2017 'Star Wars Celebration' at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
In recent times, the popular 40-year-old Star Wars franchise has been criticised for a lack of recognisably female characters.
Carrie Fisher was beloved for her role as Princess Leia, a character who was part of the original cast. Fisher died in December, but filmed scenes for The Last Jedi before her death.
The movie franchise is popular equally with male and female fans. Disney bought the franchise from creator George Lucas in 2012 for $4 billion. Three years later, the company announced plans for new 14-acre Star Wars "lands" at both its Orlando and Anaheim, California, parks, capitalising on the lucrative brand much as Universal Studios did at its Orlando parks with the Harry Potter phenomenon.
The Star Wars attraction will dwarf Disney's other themed lands and feature two new rides, including one in which guests can captain the Millennium Falcon spaceship.
(With Reuters inputs)
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 "Star Wars, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars Celebration, Hollywood, Kelly Marie Tran, Rose, Rian Johnson, Finn, John Boyega,")
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