One of the biggest and saddest problems with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is the way it noticeably sidelines the character of Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran). A character that was a vital addition to the cast in “The Last Jedi,” as a personification of what the Resistance stands for, she is being made to refuse the call to action in the new film, and has less screen time than even the droids.
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In a report from Slate, Violet Kim actually counted the amount of screen time Rose Tico gets in “Rise of Skywalker” and shockingly, out of a 2 hours and 22 minute-runtime, Rose only shows up for 1 minute and 16 seconds (“give or take a few seconds”). The fact that a character so important not only to the plot but to the character development of Finn in the previous movie would be reduced to this, especially after widespread harassment followed the release of “The Last Jedi,” is disheartening. While Rian Johnson didn’t offer any comment on “Rise of Skywalker” he did post a picture of Tran at the movie’s premiere on Twitter, accompanied by an emoji of a queen’s crown.
The fan outrage has reached even John M. Chu, director of “Crazy Rich Asians” and the upcoming adaptation of “In The Heights” also expressed his disappointment with the treatment of Rose Tico in “Rise of Skywalker.” The director took to Twitter to personally lobby for Rose Tico to get her own Disney+ original series and offered to direct it. So far, we have a confirmed season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” as well as upcoming shows for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Cassian Andor from “Rogue One,” hopefully Rose Tico will join them.