As far as film franchises go, there are none quite as beloved and iconic as Star Wars. George Lucas' epic space opera has enthralled moviegoers for decades and generations, and is showing no signs of slowing down. With Disney now in charge of the property, there's a ton of exciting projects coming down the line, including standalone films, TV shows, and the main film installments. The Skywalker Saga will come to an end with J.J Abrams' mysterious Episode IX, so the all eyes are on the upcoming project.
In addition to servicing the franchise's heroes, J.J. Abrams is also bringing in a handful of newcomers to the franchise, including Lost actor Dominic Monaghan, The Americans' Keri Russell, and English actor Richard E. Grant. The latter recently spoke to the process of getting his undisclosed role, and it's absolutely hilarious.
J.J. was sitting with Daisy Ridley and said, 'Hey! Great. Come in. So you're gonna do it?' and I said, 'Do what?' And at this point the room went upside-down, and I'm sure he was telling me in detail what part I was playing and what the character is called. I have no memory of that whatsoever. I just kept thinking: I might be in Star Wars. I kept waiting for them to say, 'Well you're going to come in and stand in for somebody else because we need somebody to test your height or your age or whatever.' But no, they kept saying 'So you are going to do this aren't you?' and I said, 'Of course I'm going to do this.'
It turns out that Richard E. Grant is all of us. While he's had a long career in projects like Game of Thrones, HBO's Girls, and Spice Word, the 61 year old actor could still barely contain his excitement about getting in the room for Star Wars. And when Abrams seemingly gave him the part on the spot, Grant just couldn't believe his ears.
Richard E. Grant's comments come from his recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, where the actor discussed the many high profile roles he's had in show business. While he's an actor who casual audiences have definitely seen at some point, his profile is due to grow considerably once Episode IX arrives in theaters. With the exception of Solo, each new release has reached insane numbers of people, and made a ton of money in the process.
It should be fascinating to see how J.J. Abrams completes the trilogy he began with The Force Awakens, as well as wrapping up the Skywalker Saga forever. The pressure is on to deliver, and Abrams must service the main characters, as well as newcomers like Richard E. Grant. But it looks like we'll have to wait quite some time to see who he plays in the project, so buckle up.
All will be revealed when Star Wars Episode IX arrives in theaters on December 20th, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
