The Star Wars franchise has been on a hot streak over the last few years, ever since Disney acquired the rights to Lucasfilm. A ton of new and exciting additions to the beloved space opera have already been made, and the property is showing no signs of slowing down. The sequel trilogy will end with The Rise of Skywalker, and J.J. Abrams' return to the franchise will also complete the nine-film narrative that started with A New Hope.
The current trilogy brought back plenty of familiar faces, including Rebel leader Admiral Ackbar. While fans were delighted to see him have a bit part in The Force Awakens, he was unceremoniously killed off in The Last Jedi, when Leia's bridge was attacked by a TIE Fighter. Actor Tom Kane has voiced Ackbar since the death of Erik Bauersfeld, and recently revealed his dismay with the character's fate, saying:
I’ve been Ackbar for about six years... and I was not really thrilled about how they blew him out the side of the ship. I’m like, ‘Who is this Holdo woman? Nobody knows her, no one’s invested in her — who is she? Why is she saving the fleet?’ If anyone was gonna save the fleet it’d be Ackbar.
It looks like Tom Kane would have preferred for Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo to have been excluded from The Last Jedi, in favor of giving Ackbar the big heroic death sequence. Unfortunately, he perished in the shocking opening sequence.
Tom Kane's comments from his recent appearance at Star Wars Celebration (via Comic Book) seem to echo some of the fan complaints for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Director Rian Johnson purposefully subverted fan expectations, and provided surprise after surprise in his divisive sequel. That was shown early during the movie's runtime, as the Resistance Leaders were pulled into the vacuum of space after being hit by a TIE Fighter.
While Leia would manifest her Force abilities and get to safety, Admiral Ackbar wasn't so lucky. And it was his loss that ultimately made way for Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo to take control of The Resistance while Leia recovered. If Ackbar had survived, Holdo's conflict with Poe would have never occurred. What's more, she wouldn't have gotten that iconic moment of self sacrifice during The Last Jedi's third act.
Holdo's big sacrifice, which Tom Kane seems to take umbrage with, brought the most sensory moment of The Last Jedi. As the movies' various conflicts came to a head, the Resistance leader turned on her ship's hyperdrive and used it to ram through the First Order forces, including the massive ship Supremacy. The movie was suddenly silent, as a flash of light showed her destructive power in Holdo's final moments.
You can't blame Tom Kane for wanting Admiral Ackbar to get that already iconic Star Wars moment. Ackbar has been with the franchise for a long time, and his "It's a trap!" line has been the subject of countless memes. But he was less of a presence in The Force Awakens, and ultimately perished without much fanfare during The Last Jedi's first big battle scene.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will arrive in theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
