Kelly Marie Tran Tease Rose Tico’s New Role In Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

Rose Tico in The Rise of Skywalker

The Star Wars franchise is on the edge of a precipice, with only a few months left before the release of The Rise of Skywalker. Pressure and anticipation around J.J. Abrams' blockbuster is at a fever pitch, as the upcoming movie will wrap up the entire nine-film Skywalker Saga, which began back with A New Hope. But the franchise is known for its tight security, so the movie's plot is largely a mystery. But we got an idea about Rose Tico's journey, thanks to actress Kelly Marie Tran.

Kelly Marie Tran made her debut as Rose in Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi. She was an underdog character, highlighting the lesser known members of The Resistance. She also developed a strong relationship with John Boyega's Finn, starting a love triangle in the process. Tran recently spoke to how her character has changed since we last saw her on Crait, saying:

Before, Rose was a new character who was in maintenance and she was not a huge part of the resistance. But now she's in the Resistance in a big way and it's very cool.

It looks like Rose won't be monitoring escape pods when we see her return to the screen in Episode IX. She's become a major player in The Resistance, although Kelly Marie Tran was careful not to reveal too much. Still, it'll be interesting to see this new, confident Rose in the next installment in the franchise.

Kelly Marie Tran's comments to Digital Spy further tease the time jump that's been teased about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi picked up shortly after the events of The Force Awakens, and told a story over just a few days. But J.J. Abrams will move the story forward, and allow the upcoming blockbuster to have a grander scale.

Not much is known about the events of The Rise of Skywalker, but it looks like the aforementioned time jump will change the dynamic of the ongoing galactic war. It was previously reported that the years of fighting The First Order has not been kind to The Resistance, and Leia's troops don't have the money to continue fighting the good fight.

Related: Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker Is Tracking For A Huge Opening, But Lowest Of New Trilogy?

I'm eager to see to see what rank Rose Tico has risen to in her time spent serving. The Resistance took heavy losses during The Last Jedi, with much of the leadership (including Admiral Ackbar) perishing during the movie's opening sequence. There were plenty of slots to fill, and Rose clearly proved herself both on Canto Bight and in the final battle on Crait. Add on the time jump, and she could be very high ranking at this point.

Luckily, we won't have to wait long for answers to arrive. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will hit theaters on December 20th, finally answering all our questions in the process. In the meantime check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.