With Star Wars Celebration kicking off, here is one bit of information that has filtered out early. British actor Naomi Ackie’s ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ character has been revealed to be named Jannah.
That’s… kind of it.
It’s unclear how large a role she will play, or how she will fit into the story. (Isn’t ‘Episode IX’ a bit late to be adding new characters?) But at least an image of Jannah has been revealed and shared, courtesy of ComicBook.com. You can view it below:
First look at Naomi Ackie’s character ‘Jannah’ in #IX! #SWCC pic.twitter.com/ReUSlD3FU7
— Star Wars Stuff (@starwarstuff) April 12, 2019
The yellow costume and cape have some speculating that she is the daughter of Lando Calrissian. (People do realize clothing isn’t hereditary, right?) Original Lando, Billy Dee Williams, is known to be returning in ‘Episode IX’, so this is a possibility. While Williams’ Lando was very stylish, it was Donald Glover‘s younger take in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ that really pushed the envelope with the bight colors and bold prints. One thing both Landos shared was an enthusiasm for capes. (A quality also shared with ‘Rogue One’s Orsen Krennic.)
Ackie teasingly commented on her character.
“Listen, Lando is a very charming man, so he could have children all over the universe. That’s what I’m saying.”
Also, Jannah’s yellow cape looks a little tattered. That plus the flowery field behind her is serving Beyoncé ‘Lemonade’ realness. Jannah might be able to do more damage with a baseball bat than Rey can with a lightsabre.
Though Ackie could not comment on Jannah’s true familial connections, she did reveal that she crosses paths with “the original group.”
“All I can say is the original group are going on this epic adventure and I’m so excited about where Jannah crosses paths with them,”
Last year, she discussed stepping into the “galaxy far, far away.”
“It’s like something that I haven’t fully anticipated so I don’t know how to get my head around it on a lot of occasions. Right now, it’s fine, because I’m filming, so it’s okay, but as soon as I have to go into the public and do all of this but with Star Wars right behind me, I think I’ll be a little bit more terrified.”
Well, here’s hoping she doesn’t have to delete her social media accounts. Yep, looking at you, sh***y ‘Star Wars’ “fans.”
Ackie joins fellow newcomers Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Matt Smith, and Dominic Monaghan.
Following this, Ackie has been cast in another major franchise, the ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel.
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ opens on December 20, 2019.
