Star Wars: The Last Jedi Actress Confirms Vice Admiral Holdo Was In Tune With The Force

“May the Force be with you.”

It’s common parlance within Lucasfilm’s Star Wars universe, and a phrase that often captures the faith and dogged spirit of the Resistance – not to mention the Rebel Alliance before them – as they rise up against galactic tyranny. Moreover, alluding to the Force and its mystical energy field will always bring the Jedi Order to mind, as their mission has and always will be to maintain balance and order in the galaxy.

But how’s this for a wrinkle in the fold? Star Wars: The Last Jedi actress Laura Dern has confirmed that her on-screen Resistance leader, Vice Admiral Holdo, was in tune with the Force.

In their minds, and in their understanding of the origin story, we know that she was a true rebel in the Resistance, and in our culture we might have called her a hippie. But she was longing for peace, and a revolutionary in that way, and wanted to be trained by and led by Leia, who taught her everything she knew. She wanted to come up in the ranks to support Leia’s mission, but also had this otherworldly side that does involve the Force.

All of this culminates in Holdo’s kamikaze attack, one in which she pays the ultimate sacrifice in order to shield the tattered remains of the Resistance fleet. It’s a beautiful moment, too, no thanks to Rian Johnson and DP Steve Yedlin, who have spoken at length about the dazzling Holdo Maneuver, which sees the Raddus ship cuts through the Supremacy and its fleet of Star Destroyers like a hot knife through butter, annihilating everything in its path.

As for those ties to the Force, Laura Dern continued:

There’s something about her that longs to protect it, and holds that with great care. There’s a sort of a light on and a wisdom that she speaks about in the film, and speaks to Oscar Isaac’s character briefly about it.

Her primary goal was to protect the light, to protect the Force, and to keep the revolutionaries alive. And I think the film speaks so beautifully to that with this last image of the next generation of the Resistance, you know?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is available across all major platforms – Blu-ray and Digital HD included – as of Tuesday, March 27th and can be ordered here.