What Role is Laura Dern Playing in Star Wars: Episode VIII?
With Monday’s exciting news that Laura Dern was officially joining the cast of Star Wars: Episode VIII, many fans began to try and guess at what role the iconic actress would be filling in the film. Join us as we speculate wildly…
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Monday’s official announcement from Disney/Lucasfilm that filming for Star Wars: Episode VIII had begun came with some surprise casting updates. We already knew that Benicio del Toro would be part of the cast and we’ve assumed he will be portraying a sith-like character, but then Laura Dern was also added to the already allstar lineup, making Episode VIII a star-heavy film.
The real fun lies in what type of role will Laura Dern be playing. The actress is probably most famously known for her role as Dr. Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park and then as Dr. Ellie Degler in Jurassic Park III. She has a knack for playing an earthy-type hippy/free-loving woman, and she has played a mother in many, many films.
With that in mind, where would Dern fit into Star Wars: Episode VIII? Many fans instantly have speculated that she would be a mate to Luke Skywalker, a possible Force-sensitive person or even Jedi in hiding like Luke that comes out of hiding in Episode VIII to join Luke and Rey. That seems like a waste of a backstory to me.
If Dern were to be Force-sensitive, and a mate to Luke, then I would much rather her be a flashback character. I would like Laura Dern to be Rey’s mother in a flashback, seen through Force visions. Dern has that motherly face, and she could more than pull it off. The Force visions could be completed through Rey’s training with Luke, as she trains to be a Jedi.
Horribly Photoshopped photo of Laura Dern Jedi in
Star Wars: Episode VIII
because…why not?
We could see Luke’s Jedi Academy and Rey’s mother played by Dern. We see a young Ben Solo. Then it’s night and the Knights of Ren attack the temple and Dern tries to protect Rey, but a Knight of Ren kills Dern as she covers the body of Rey. Ben Solo, seeing this, kills the Knight of Ren because Rey and Dern’s character are his family and he still feels the familial sentimental ties.
As young Rey is left on Jakku screaming to the unseen and unknown people to come back, the camera swings around and we see Luke’s face as he pulls her away. It’s necessary to leave his daughter on the desert planet under the watchful eye of the old man Lor San Tekka, because Snoke and the First Order are looking for her. She is a Skywalker and strong in the Force.
That’s just one way it could play out. There’s also the rebuilding of the Galactic Republic. The Resistance is still alive under the guidance of General Leia, and even though the new senate was destroyed by the First Order’s Starkiller weapon when the Hosnian System was destroyed, there has to be other worlds with new leaders ready to replace them. Perhaps Dern might be a new chancellor or senator in the rebuilt senate…she does have a certain Mon Mothma look.
Regardless of who or what Laura Dern will be playing in Star Wars: Episode VIII, I’m positive it will be expertly done and we Star Wars fans will be completely happy with the final product. Director Rian Johnson has things well under control, and I’m supremely confident in his ability to follow-up on J.J. Abrams’ amazing The Force Awakens offering.