The first look has been revealed of Richard E. Grant in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. His name has also been revealed: First Order Allegiant General Pryde. As ComicBook.com points out, this is the first character in ‘Star Wars’ with the rank of “Allegiant General.” It is expected that he will share scenes with General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) and possibly even Supreme Leader Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
Back in January, Grant discussed the secrecy that comes with being in a ‘Star Wars’ picture, and whether or not it was worth it. He replied:
“Oh, it’s definitely worth it. If you’re a Star Wars fan, and I am, then knowing what’s coming in this is quite something. I absolutely understand why they’re so secretive about it, because it’s very exciting. Yes, I am in the last Star Wars. I have no idea [if I’ll be recognizable [to die-hard fans]] because I’ve not even been allowed to tell my family what the name of my character is. If I told you I would get fired. We’re not even allowed to take the script home. There is a lot of security.”
Unfortunately, this reveal bursts the bubble that some fans had that Grant was playing Grand Admiral Thrawn, a character from some of the novels who has also appeared in the animated series ‘Star Wars Rebels’.
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Speaking of his audition, that was equally as mysterious, Grant told the Happy Sad Confused podcast:
“I got sent a 10-page generic sort of, I think, it was an interrogation scene clearly from a 1940s British B-picture because the references were not Star Wars and the language was something that my grandfather would have spoken in and I thought, you know, the three contrasting scenes that you were supposed to show as much versatility you could muster in a self-taping situation. So I did that and sent it off and it goes into cyberspace and you don’t even think about it again because it’s what actors, you know, what you do all the time, you audition, send stuff out and never hear [back].”
It remains to be seen if Allegiant General Pryde will become a classic ‘Star Wars’ villain, but we won’t have long to wait.
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ is due in theaters on December 20.
