What Star Wars: Episode 8 Is Doing To Make Laura Dern Stand Out

Laura Dern

Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduced a lot of new characters last December, and Star Wars: Episode VIII is adding even more fresh faces to the lineup. Among the new faces who are being brought in for the next sequel trilogy installment is Jurassic Park actress Laura Dern. As per usual, Disney and Lucasfilm have been staying silent on plot details regarding Star Wars: Episode VIII, but that hasn't stopped potential details from leaking. Back in March, it was rumored that Dern will play a high-ranking Resistance member, and now there's new information about how this individual's physical appearance will make her stand out from the crowd.

Along with a description for Benecio del Toro's character, Making Star Wars provided details about who Laura Dern is playing in Star Wars: Episode VIII. Described as the most "bombastic" of the new players, she apparently dresses similarly to Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games. This includes a "fancy dress" and pink hair that would have fit in nicely with the interesting styles from the Star Wars prequel movies. Overall, Laura Dern's look in this movie sounds like it will be a weird mix of aristocratic and eccentric.

While MSW has a good track record with reports concerning upcoming Star Wars movies, obviously most of the above information should be taken with a degree of skepticism until Lucasfilm provides confirmation. However, at least one part of the report was partially true. There was a photo taken on one of the Star Wars: Episode VIII sets last year of an actress with wild pink hair, and while that woman didn't look like Laura Dern, it's possible she could have been a stand-in. Regardless, should the above information be correct, it would seem that Dern's character's fashion and hairdo choices are closer to something Queen Amidala wore in The Phantom Menace than the more practical choices seen in the Original Trilogy and The Force Awakens.

As mentioned earlier, it was previously reported that Laura Dern is playing someone involved in the Resistance, either as a high-ranking officer or politician. This individual will also supposedly have an "antagonistic" relationship with Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron. Beyond that, it's unclear how she'll fit into Star Wars: Episode VIII, though for now, it appears that not only will she be someone important, but she'll also be operating alongside the good guys (assuming we don't have a double agent situation). Dern, Benecio del Toro and Kelly Marie Tran are the primary new actors being brought in for Star Wars: Episode VIII, though just like Daniel Craig did in The Force Awakens, Tom Hardy will reportedly cameo as a stormtrooper.

Star Wars: Episode VIII hits theaters on December 15, 2017, but we'll hopefully get our first official look at Laura Dern's character much earlier, whether it's in an image or preview.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.