Star Wars' Rose Tico fans not satisfied with explanation

DISNEY

Rose Tico and Finn in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" became a promising couple fans hoped to see again.

Hmm. Before the final cut of Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released in theaters last Dec. 20, Vietnamese American actress Kelly Marie Tran was pretty excited about the important role her character, Rose Tico, would have in the movie.

Interviews done before the The Last Jedi premiere that appears to undermine the statements of the screenplay writer of the final chapter of the 9-movie space saga.

“Yeah, it was probably one of the biggest sets I had ever been on,” Tran told The Hollywood Reporter about the Battle of Exegol, one of the climactic action scenes in "The Rise of Skywalker." “It was incredible to see what the stunt teams did. It was also insane to be running across this platform — which I know you only see for a second in the movie — but we shot it so many times. I remember having bruises on my knees the next day because we kept running and then we would fall onto our knees and do some more shooting stuff. I don’t think that’s in the movie. It was definitely organized chaos as stormtroopers were flying, people were on horses.  . . .  It was pretty insane.”

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in November, Tran alluded to scenes that she supposedly shared with this trilogy's new Jedi knight Rey (Daisy Ridley), even though none of their scenes together made the final cut.

"I think it’s really cool at all that they are even in scenes together because in ‘[The Last Jedi]’ we weren’t in any scenes together," Tran told EW. "It was really cool to have feminine energy on set. I wish I could tell you more but I’m really excited for people to see [Rose and Rey] interact. They both have the some objective which is to fight for the things you believe in and the people you love."

Unfortunately, neither of these scenes made the final cut. And neither involved any interactions with Princess Leia which seems to make a tipid explanation offered by writer Chris Terrio.

"One of the reasons that Rose has a few less scenes than we would like her to have has to do with the difficulty of using Carrie’s footage in the way we wanted to," Terrio told several media in an interview published earlier this week. "We wanted Rose to be the anchor at the rebel base who was with Leia. We thought we couldn’t leave Leia at the base without any of the principals who we love, so Leia and Rose were working together. As the process evolved, a few scenes we’d written with Rose and Leia turned out to not meet the standard of photorealism that we’d hoped for. Those scenes unfortunately fell out of the film."

He added, "The last thing we were doing was deliberately trying to sideline Rose. We adore the character, and we adore Kelly – so much so that we anchored her with our favorite person in this galaxy, General Leia."

The argument Terrio gave was meant to temper the onslaught of criticism of the reduction of Tico's role to that of an extra after playing such a major role in the rebel resistance in The Last Jedi, the movie preceding the current release. The Last Jedi ended with the hint that Tico's heroics that saved the life of another major character, would lead to an even bigger role in the final chapter.

Terrio later clarified that his comments referred to “a specific scene in which Leia’s emotional state in Episode 7 did not seem to match the scene we wrote for use in Episode 9, and so it was cut at the script stage (before the VFX work was done).” 

Oh, so the scenes were cut at the script stage, not in the editing. What that means is poor writing was the reason Tico's onscreen time was reduced to 1 minute, 16 seconds.

What angers Tran's/Tico's fans is that it appears that the producers yielded to the racist and sexist fanboys who hated Tico, the first Asian American woman, the first woman of color, with a major role in the nine movies that defined the Star Wars universe.

To fans, it appears that lines and actions that could have been for Tico were given to newly introduced characters who were unnecessary in order to move the story forward.

Rose Tico deserves better. Kelly Marie Tran deserves better. Star Wars fans deserve better.

Crazy Rich Asians Jon Chu proposes a Rose Tico series

The mini-revolt by Star Wars fans is still bubbling after the latest episode of the 9-movie space saga was released 10 days ago spilling into a huge PR problem for Disney Studios.

At the center of the controversy is the virtual disappearance of Rose Tico, played by Kelly Marie Tran. Tico was one of main heroes of the previous episode, The Last Jedi, but in the latest chapter, The Rise of Skywalker, she is onscreen only 1 minute and 16 seconds.

Tico's prominence in The Last Jedi was hailed by Asian Americans as the long-awaited arrival of Asians in "the galaxy far, far away," where the storyline takes place. 

Movie director Jon Chu has joined the fray by offering to direct a TV series featuring Rose Tico.

On Friday (Dec 27), the Crazy Rich Asians director took to Twitter to mamke his proposal: “Ok @disneyplus. Put me in coach. Let’s make this series happen. #RoseTicoDeservedBetter @starwars.”

It's ironic it took so long for the franchise to pay some recognition that the series owe so much of its lore and initial storyline to the popular samurai movies of the 1960s. Creator George Lucas admits that he was inspired by Jajpanese director Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortrress and the style of sword-fighting from the samurai in Kurosawa's period flicks.

Disney Plus is the studio's pay-for-view streaming network which already features a Star Wars spinoff, The Mandalorian and have plans for  a Rogue One prequel series and an Obi-Wan-centered series, both of which feature original Star Wars film actors returning to their roles.

Chu didn't offer any further details but an offer by one of Hollywood's in-demand directors should be taken seriously. Besides the groundbreaking Crazy Rich Asians, his latest project, In the Heights, looks to be another hit. Also among his credits are the moneymaking franchises, G.I. Joe Retaliation, Step up and Now You See Me.

Tico's character was heavily criticized by a small segment of Star War fans who didn't like an Asian woman playing such an important role in a franchise they somehow believe should be populated by strong, white men and princesses that need rescuing. They mounted an intense social media campaign infused with hate and racism forcing Tran to shut down her social media account at one point.

So when Tico's role was seriously reduced in the ninth and final chapter of the space saga, it appeared to fans that the producers and studio were caving to the unwarranted criticism.

In such a diverse universe, one would think there would be room for an Asian or two considering much of the lore for the initial Star Wars movies were co-opted from Japanese samurai movies, from the use of The Force, costumes and style of swordfighting. George Lucas, who created the Star Wars story, admitted that he stole from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and his Japanese period film The Hidden Fortress and other samurai films popular in the 1960s.

Chris Terrio, co-screenplay writer of The Rise of Skywalker, tried to temper the rising controversy by responding to the Rose Tico defenders in interviews with several publications. 

Well, first of all, J.J. and I adore Kelly Marie Tran. One of the reasons that Rose has a few less scenes than we would like her to have has to do with the difficulty of using Carrie’s footage in the way we wanted to. We wanted Rose to be the anchor at the rebel base who was with Leia. We thought we couldn’t leave Leia at the base without any of the principals who we love, so Leia and Rose were working together. As the process evolved, a few scenes we’d written with Rose and Leia turned out to not meet the standard of photorealism that we’d hoped for. Those scenes unfortunately fell out of the film. The last thing we were doing was deliberately trying to sideline Rose. We adore the character, and we adore Kelly – so much so that we anchored her with our favorite person in this galaxy, General Leia.

Terrio's explanation doesn't seem adequate enough considering the high level of special effects used in the movie, but it is the only explanation so far. If a studio can create  a universe where all kinds of aliens can co-exist and travel to distant planets in minutes, it seems that it could overcome this technical glitch.

Neither Disney Studios or J.J. Abrams, director for The Rise of Skywalker, has responded to all the hoopla surrounding the Rose Tico controversy. If Disney though the fanboys' trolling was intense, they would be wise to not anger the Asian American online army.

Rose Tico 'marginilized' in new Star Wars movie

DISNEY / THE LAST JEDI

After a hint of a relationship between Rose Tico and Finn in 'The Last Jedi,' fans expected much more.

We need to talk: Where's Rose Tico? What happened to "our girl" in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker?

The prescient headline in Variety read: ‘Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker’s’ Kelly Marie Tran on Why Rose Tico’s Story Is Also Her Own. After the debut of the much awaited final episode of the space saga, Rose's fans are in an uproar at her marginalization, giving more meaning to the headline.

"Her character was aspirational, especially to Asian American girls who grew up on Star Wars but never saw anybody that looked like them represented in the galaxy far, far away," wrote Joey Marona on cleveland.com.
After making Rose Tico, the first Asian American hero in the last movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi, in the 11-episode (9 plus 2 side stories Rogue One and Solo) telling the story of a "galaxy far, far away," the character has met the silent fate many Asian Americans face almost every day in school or on the job.

Rose's role in the Rise of Skywalker has been significantly reduced to barely more than an extra lingering in the background. Her extraordinary heroism in Last Jedi, ending with a kiss with John Boyega's Finn, one of the main characters, has long been forgotten. The new couple (or, so we thought) became appeared embarrassed at letting their emotions get the better of them in the previous (Episode 8) of the 9-part saga.

I'm not sure what the decision process was in the making of what we are told will be the last Star Wars movie, for Rose Tico fans, including those Asian Americans cosplaying her at the numerous comic-cons, Rise of Skywalker is a major, major disappointment to say the least.

One explanation offered on social media is that director and producer JJ Abrams yielded to the fanboy trollers who like their women in spandex and their heroes white. After Rose was introduced in The Last Jedi, they went on a hate-filled on-line campaign causing Tran to cut herself off social media and forcing the director Rian Johnson and Abrams to go on the record in interviews defending the Rose Tico character and Tran.

After becoming the moral center of The Last Jedi and saving Finn's ass (Boyega) from a senseless suicide attack, Rose deserved better. We expected better.

The Variety article, written before the general release of Episode 9, foretells Rose's fate, but ends with a tinge of hope from Tran:

"And now that the Skywalker saga is ending, Tran thinks that Tico offers a new hope, especially for young Asian American fans – that they, too, can have a place on the big screen, in a galaxy far far away. In these made-up universes and real-life spaces that are still evolving to include them.

“'I cannot wait to see what this next generation does ‘cause the rules that we grew up believing are so…' Tran pauses and lets out a laugh, 'They’re lies.'”

Truth, Kelly. Truth.

Star Wars: Kelly Marie Tran gets the last laugh against her critics

Kelly Marie Tran will reprise her role as Rose Tico in 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.'

ASAM NEWS

Kelly Marie Tran has been teasing fans and the media about her character Rose Tico’s role in the upcoming Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
According to Digital Spy, Tran says Rose will be more involved in the resistance than she was in The Last Jedi.

“Before, Rose was a new character who was in maintenance and she was not a huge part of the resistance,” Tran told Digital Spy. “But now she’s in the resistance in a big way and it’s very cool.”

Since character descriptions were released for The Rise of Skywalker in September, fans have speculated that Rose could play a bigger role.

According to Comic Book, the description reads: “Rose has risen through the ranks from lowly engineering support crew to military commander. She leads the Engineering Corps in making the necessary modifications to keep the Resistance’s gear operational, as well as countering new advancements in First Order technology.”

Tran told Digital Spy that she had to do more training for The Rise of Skywalker than she did in The Last Jedi.

“I had to learn everything that had to do with being in a war, like holding a gun,” Tran said. “I’ve never held a gun before. Things like that, that you don’t even think about when you’re watching this movie. We’re all real people living real lives.”

"We don't shoot arrows off horses normally, so we have to learn every little thing. There's so much detail and so much work that goes into everything."

After the release of The Last Jedi, Tran was bullied on social media because some Star Wars fans were unhappy with her character. Now, many fans who supported the character hope that Rose will be treated more respectfully after The Rise of Skywalker is released.

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'Rally for Rose' at Comic-Con answers Rose Tico haters

TWITTER / NERDS OF COLOR

ACTRESS KELLY MARIE TRAN and Rose Tico, the character she plays in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, have come under fire from white males posing as fans of the Star Wars blockbuster franchise.

Tran - and by extension, Rose Tico - have come to symbolize everything that is wrong about the push for diversity by what haters say are "social justice warriors."

Last weekend, fans of Rose rallied for their hero at the 2018 Comic-Con held in San Diego. The "Rally for Rose," was organized by the website Nerds of Color and attracted a number cosplayers dressed as Rose as well as others wearing t-shirts emblazoned with a portrait of Rose.

Rose, as played by Tran, is the first woman of color to play a significant role in the Star Wars movies. As a result, Tran was targeted on Instagram by white fanboys making fun of her appearance her weight and just for being in the same universe as Luke Skywalker, one of the original main characters in the first Star Wars.

The fanboys - a small but vocal portion of the franchise's fan base -- apparently saw Star Wars as one of their refuges from reality. So when Disney began including female leads and characters of color in the last three stories -- The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi -- they hit back the only way they knew, through social media, hiding behind the Internet's anonymity.

The latest movie in the franchise, Solo, saw the return of the white, male hero, but still managed to have strong female leads played by Westworld's Thandie Newton and Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke. 

The fanboys immature campaign aimed at Tran apparently caused the actress to drop her Instagram account, much to the consternation of director Rian Johnson and star Mark Hamill, both of whom enjoyed the idea of the rally.

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Star Wars' Kelly Marie Tran faces down Earth's racist trolls

This poster of Finn, Rey and Rose, characters from The Last Jedi, must upset the white racist mysogynists.

IN THE TOXICITY of today's racial environment, it is not surprising that some folks could not handle having an Asian/American as a key protagonist in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

In the box-office hit of the newest chapter in the Star Wars saga, Kelly Marie Tran plays Rose Tico, a lowly mechanic who - thrust into the heat of battle between The Resistance and the Galactic Empire - does extraordinary deeds to emerge as the hero.

Tran is also the first Asian cast in a major role in the universe created by Star Wars creator George Lucas.

Apparently, fans of the series have no problem accepting Wookies, Ewoks, Hutts and any number of other sentient aliens, but casting an Asian into a speaking role is a little too much for them.

Much of the negative reaction comes from the human subspecies known as racists, aka white supremacists, aka alt.right, or the followers of the KKK or Nazis.

"Last week, they emerged from hiding to throw a virtual tantrum: first, on fan-made encyclopedia Fandom, trolls swarmed the entry for Tran's character Rose Tico, filling it with racist slurs and changing her character’s name to 'Ching Chong Wing Tong' and calling the character a 'dumbass b*tch.' Clever," notes Salon.

The Star Wars fan site Fandom responded by taking down the tweets and issuing this statement: 

“FANDOM has a zero tolerance policy for vandalism, inclusive of racism and harassment,” the company told Newsweek. “The wiki admins take this very seriously and took the steps to resolve this situation as quickly as possible, including escalation to our team, and subsequent lockdown. This lockdown will remain for the foreseeable future and we will be closely monitoring activity on this wiki.”

Tran, well aware of the historic inroad of Rose Tico, not only in the Star Wars galaxy, far, far away but in the galaxy of Hollywood, handled the racist trolling with grace on her Instagram account:

This isn't the first time racists have attempted to take down the Star Wars saga. When The Force Awakens was in production and it was revealed that John Boyega would have a major role, so-called fans tried to launch the #BoycottStarWarsVII. The fact the boycott was unsuccessful speaks about how narrow the racist point of view represented the saga's fandom.

When asked by the Detroit Free Press about Rose Tico's role in the context of today's world, Tran answered:

"I hear that a lot. ... I think that’s why I get so emotional – because I know how impossible this is. It’s not just because it’s hard to be an actor, which it is when you’re first starting, especially if your parents are from a different world and you didn’t grow up in the entertainment industry. It just seems so far away. It seems truly, completely impossible. Whenever I talk about this I think, “Man, I wish I didn’t have to talk about this” — that in 2017 there were a plethora of different types of people writing and producing and directing and creating, and that we didn’t have to address this. But the fact is, it is 2017 and we have to talk about it, because we’re just not there yet.

"Because I’m an Asian American, and every role I was auditioning for before was sort of this same side character … . To have someone like Rian write something that was so full and rich, and a complete human – I’ve never had that before. I don’t know that many people of color have that often."

Tran, who admits to not being a Star Wars fan before she landed her groundbreaking role, must know by now -- The Force is with her.
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A first: Star Wars' Asian heroines will have action figures

Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) and Finn (John Boyega) in the upcoming Star Wars movie.

THE MYSTERY surrounding the role that the character of Rose Tico will have in the upcoming Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, has generated a lot of speculation. The fact that she merits an action figure adds to the intrigue.
Rose has a sister, Paige, who will also have an action figure. Is this the first time that two action figures, both women, both Asian, both from the same movie, come out at the same time?

Rose Tico, as played by Kelly Marie Tran, is a maintenance worker for the Resistance, not a particular heroic role usually filled with fighter pilots, swashbuckling smugglers, fleeing princesses and Jedi. 

“This possibility that any of us could step up and become a hero, that’s where Rose comes from,” said The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson earlier this year Comparing Rose to Luke Skywaker and Rey, he said, “She’s not a soldier, she’s not looking to be a hero. But she gets pulled into a very big adventure with Finn.”

RELATED: A glimpse of Kelly Marie Tran in 'The Last Jedi'

“She’s not cool," says Tran. "She’s this nobody, this background player, which is what makes her interesting. She’s not the best. She’s not royalty. She’s someone who is just like everyone else.”

Note that the Rose Tico action figure will have a space blaster as an accoutrement.

Rose's sister, Paige, played by Vietnamese actress Veronica Ngo,  being trained by Resistance fighter pilot Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac. Like her sister Rose, Paige's story is shrouded in mystery, but the action figure looks cool. The sister team of action figures should be a collector's item.

Disney is expected to release a bunch of new merchandise in connection to The Last Jedi during a global unboxing event known as Force Friday on Sept. 1, but it’s unclear if the leaked products are a part of it. Besides the action figures, there will be light sabers and blasters. 

The photo of the Rose Tico action figure was leaked by swrogue507. Among the figures of the heroic figures of Finn and Rey, Luke, Princess Leia, will be the first Asian/American hero Rose Tico. It is noteworthy that the packaging of the action figure includes a space blaster, hinting that Rose will play a bigger role in the storyline than just being a starstruck maintenance worker.

Paige Tico, Resistance gunner

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