Jon M. Chu Urges Disney+ to Make Rose Tico ‘Star Wars’ Series With Kelly Marie Tran

Zack Sharf

Click here to read the full article.

The many “Star Wars” fans outraged over how “The Rise of Skywalker” sidelines Kelly Marie Tran’s Resistance member Rose Tico should be thrilled with Jon M. Chu. The “Crazy Rich Asians” director has taken to social media to personally lobby for Rose Tico to get her own Disney+ original series. The “Star Wars” universe already has a TV home on Disney+ thanks to the “The Mandalorian” and the upcoming Obi Wan Kenobi series. Could Rose Tico be next? “Put me in coach,” Chu tweeted December 27. “Let’s make this series happen.”

Kelly Marie Tran made her “Star Wars” debut in Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi.” Rose Tico was a major supporting character in the movie, but her screen time was drastically reduced for “The Rise of Skywalker.” Forbes estimates that Tran appears on screen in “The Rise of Skywalker” for just one minute and 16 seconds. The movie’s total runtime is two hours and 22 minutes. Fans have pointed out that Rose Tico’s sister has more screen time in “The Last Jedi” (her character appears in the opening scene and is killed off) than Rose does in “The Rise of Skywalker.”

More from IndieWire

The main reason fans have been outraged over Tran’s barely existent role in “The Rise of Skywalker” is because of how she was treated by “Star Wars” fans following the release of “The Last Jedi.” Tran had to wipe her Instagram account clean after becoming the victim of online harassment and racism from toxic “Star Wars” fans unhappy with her casting. By making Rose obsolete, many “Star Wars” fans believe “Rise of Skywalker” screenwriters J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio have validated the trolls.

A pre-release interview between Tran and Entertainment Weekly suggested Rose’s role was drastically cut down for the “Rise of Skywalker” theatrical release. Tran said she was excited for “Star Wars” fans to see Rose and Daisy Ridley’s series protagonist Rey interact, but no scene of the two characters together exists in “Rise of Skywalker.”

Chu is currently in post-production on “In The Heights,” Universal’s adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical that’s set for release June 26, 2020.

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.