“Star Wars” has launched a career or two in its time. This year, the franchise will introduce us to Kelly Marie Tran, who plays a Resistance mechanic named Rose.
Tran joined the cast panel at Friday’s “Star Wars” Celebration event in Orlando, where director Rian Johnson said she will join Rey and Finn as characters with only one name.
“This possibility that any of us could step up and become a hero, that’s where Rose comes from,” Johnson told the crowd, comparing her to Luke Skywalker and Rey. “She’s not a soldier, she’s not looking to be a hero. But she gets pulled into a very big adventure with Finn.” (Watch Tran join the panel around the 40:00 mark in the video below.)
Tran is a San Diego native whose IMDb page is peppered with sketch-comedy work. She’s a CollegeHumor regular and a co-star of the web series “Ladies Like Us.” Tran also appeared on a couple of “About a Boy” episodes and, according to Entertainment Weekly, trained with improv groups like Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade.
Showing off her comedic roots, Tran said during the panel that she told her family she was shooting an indie movie in Canada because “The Last Jedi” was so top-secret. “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,” she quipped.
Disney hasn’t revealed any images of Rose yet. “I can’t wait for you to meet her,” Tran said.
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