They say that show business is all about who you know. While talent and luck are also major factors, fostering creative and professional relationships can be key to making it in tinsel town. There are certain filmmakers that tend to use the same company of actors, including Ryan Murphy, Quentin Tarantino, and J.J. Abrams. The latter is returning to the Star Wars franchise with Episode IX, and is once again putting frequent collaborators on the project. One of these is The Americans actress Keri Russell, who has a mysterious role in the untitled sequel. Russell originally worked with Abrams when he created her hit TV series Felicity, and she recently spoke to the process of reuniting in the galaxy far, far away.
It is just so much more fun to work with someone that you like so much. I mean, we see each other and then we talk nonstop and fill in all the details of the past years, and you know, it's just nice when you have that kind of fun and history with someone. It makes it all that much more enjoyable. When J.J. calls so unexpectedly, cool things happen.
It looks like, in addition to joining arguably the biggest film franchise ever, Keri Russell is especially excited to be back on set with J.J. Abrams. Abrams helped to catapult her career when bringing Felicity to The WB, and now Russell has the chance to reach whole new audiences through George Lucas' colorful and vibrant space opera.
Keri Russell's comments to Deadline further illustrate how positive of a collaborator J.J. Abrams must be. In order to sustain so many working relationships, the guy has to be doing something right. No project is quite as high profile as the Star Wars franchise, and Abrams has already been shown to create roles for his actors. Joining Keri Russell in Episode IX is Lord of the Rings actor Dominic Monaghan. Monaghan also has a mysterious role in Episode IX, and previously worked with Abrams on Lost.
J.J. Abrams also included plenty of familiar faces in The Force Awakens, in varying sized roles. For instance, Heroes actor Greg Grunberg played Resistance pilot Snap Wexley, Lost alum Ken Leung played U.O. Statura, and Star Trek star Simon Pegg played Unkar Plutt. But given the high profile hire of Keri Russell and her recent success on FX's The Americans, smart money says her role will be quite larger by comparison.
Unfortunately, it's going to be some time before we get any concrete information about Episode IX. The sequel is filming now, and will be keeping security very tight for the time being. And considering we have over a year until J.J. Abram concludes the trilogy and Skywalker Saga forever, fans will have to sit tight.
All will be revealed when Episode IX arrives on December 20th, 2019-- complete with Keri Russell. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
