It may be reaching the end of the line in theaters, after finally crossing $1 billion at the global box office, but it seems as though Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has almost faded from the cultural conversation already. Not only did the ninth and final chapter of the Skywalker Saga seem to split the fanbase right down the middle, much like predecessor The Last Jedi, but following the movie’s relatively disappointing performance, serious questions are being asked about the future of the franchise.
This time last year, it would be almost impossible to think that the culmination of one of the biggest and most popular brands that the business had ever seen would only end up as the ninth highest-grossing movie of the year, but to a lot of spectators it seems as though Star Wars is in the midst of a minor crisis, with plenty of fingers being pointed at Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, particularly following the recently-announced delay of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney Plus.
One of the many controversial aspects of The Rise of Skywalker was the decision to retcon most of the creative decisions made by Rian Johnson in The Last Jedi, including the treatment of Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico. The character was originally set to be a major part of the ensemble cast, but the actress ended up facing so much backlash online that she was forced to delete her social media accounts, with her co-stars even having to publicly denounce the situation.
In a recent interview though, Tran responded in incredibly diplomatic fashion when asked how she felt about the reduced amount of screentime for Rose in The Rise of Skywalker, saying:
“The Last Jedi was my first movie, you know? So I think I’m finally starting to realize that when you’re in something of that caliber, there’s so many people working to make something out of love. And no matter what you do, there’s always going to be people that aren’t happy with that. But I think the best lesson that I’ve learned is just to have fun and be present in the moment. So I’m really grateful that I got to be a part of it.”
Nobody should be subjected to the kind of abuse that the 31 year-old received from the more toxic sections of the Star Wars fandom, and Tran deserves huge credit for taking it all in her stride. There were plenty of issues with all three of the most recent movies, and singling out one member of the cast in particular just shows modern internet culture in the worst light.
