Why These Characters Had Such Small Roles In Rise Of Skywalker

There's a lot going on in Star Wars Episode IX, which means that some characters were bound to fall by the wayside as others took the lead in the closing chapter of the saga. Here are several characters with relatively small roles in The Rise of Skywalker, along with why each one ended up with such limited screen time.

The Force Awakens introduced viewers to an older, wiser Leia Organa, now a general leading the Resistance against the First Order. Leia continued in that role in The Last Jedi, but actress Carrie Fisher sadly and suddenly died in 2016 after completing work on that film.

Director J.J. Abrams opted to use several minutes of Leia footage left over from The Force Awakens for The Rise of Skywalker, so Leia is present throughout most of the film as the leader of the Resistance. But the limited Fisher footage meant that she was often shown simply observing and reacting to other characters. The dialogue scenes she does have are short, and with the help of movie magic, Abrams engineered a somber, meaningful death scene for her character.

Lots of fan favorite characters from the original trilogy, including Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker, returned in The Force Awakens. But what about Han's old pal and the suavest dude in the galaxy, Lando Calrissian?

Lando didn't make his return until The Rise of Skywalker, and it's easy to see why. With both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker dead, and Leia Organa pulling limited duty, the film needed another Rebel legend to turn to. In the end, though, that's pretty much all Lando is there for. An intended subplot about Lando meeting his long-lost daughter was reportedly cut out of the film, leaving him to just look cool, saying a few catchy lines, and be an inspirational figure for the younger heroes.

When it was announced that Mark Hamill would return to reprise the role of Luke Skywalker for The Force Awakens, fans were excited, but then learned he only appeared onscreen in the final scene. The Last Jedi gave Luke a lot to do, but it presented a divisive version of Luke Skywalker, capping things off with the character's redemptive death.

Fans were excited to find out Hamill would be back for The Rise of Skywalker, but surely he couldn't do that much as a Force ghost, right? He does appear a key moment in the story, when Rey is doubting herself and contemplating a self-exile similar to Luke's own. He dispenses some wisdom then shuffles back off into the afterlife. After that, he does some voiceover, and that's the entirety of his role.

Keep watching the video to find out more about why these characters had such small roles in The Rise of Skywalker

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Leia Organa | 0:18
Lando Calrissian | 1:00
Luke Skywalker | 1:40
Rose Tico | 2:23
Maz Kanata | 3:18
Jannah | 4:01
R2-D2 | 4:51