WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in theaters now.
One of the most common criticisms for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the diminished role of Kelly Marie Tran's Rose Tico, a main character in the last film. Cast interviews told a different story about Rose's involvement in the film, featuring Kelly Marie Tran gush about scenes that were clearly cut from the theatrical release.
IndieWire notes that the way Tran spoke about Rose's role in previous Rise of Skywalker interviews, it was clear Rose's importance was originally greater.
On November 29, Entertainment Weekly published an interview with Tran. The actress revealed that she was most excited for fans to see Rose finally interact with Daisy Ridley's Rey. She said, "I think it's really cool at all that they are even in scenes together because in Jedi, we weren't in any scenes together." She added, "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 same objective which is to fight for the things you believe in and the people you love."
An image of a scene between Rose and Rey released online, but in the final cut of the film, no such interaction exists. Rose shows up in the beginning of the film as the trio take off for Pasaana. After that, Rose is nearly entirely absent from the film, although she shows up again briefly during the final battle against the First Order.
The Last Jedi was divisive amongst fans for varying reasons. Some merely didn't like the plot or the direction of certain characters, while others loved the new direction. This is the kind of natural divisiveness films can bring, especially ones that are as beloved as the Star Wars franchise.
However, a smaller, and unfortunately very vocal group of fans, channeled their anger into bullying Kelly Marie Tran online. These fans harassed Tran with a slew of racist, sexist and otherwise cruel remarks, causing the actress to leave social media altogether. Many critics cited Tico's diminished role in the new film as disappointing, claiming that it let that particular toxic group of fandom win.
Tran has not addressed her feelings on her character's reduced role in the film yet, but from her previous excitement, it's clear she expected at least slightly more scenes to be in the film.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerstars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant.