Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in addition to racking up box office dollars, has generated a fair amount of controversy, particularly with regards to how it sidelines Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran). According to reports, Rose appears on screen for a mere 76 seconds. So which other characters in the Star Wars franchise have more screen time?
Rose Tico was introduced in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi as she accompanies Finn (John Boyega) in the side-quest that occupies much of the film’s B-plot and further serves as a conscience for the film, informing Finn of the dark underpinnings of the casino town, Canto Bight. By the end of the film, a romantic relationship forms between the two when Rose kisses Finn during the film’s climax.
These plot threads are not explored in J.J. Abrams’ sequel, and Rose’s role during the film’s action is to remain back at the rebel base throughout its two hours and 22-minute runtime. The excuse she gives for not joining her friends on their adventure is that General Leia has asked her to look over the plans for old Star Destroyers. Yes, Rose gets stuck at home doing paperwork.
In the first film of the prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace, Anakin's pod-racing rival Sebulba (voiced by Lewis Macleod) clocks in at about 85 seconds of screen time. Watto (voiced by Andrew Secombe), a character criticized as a racially insensitive stereotype, has just under four minutes. This isn't the first time that the franchise has sidelined a character: after the poor reception given to Jar Jar Binks, his role in the second film, Attack of the Clones, was cut, but even he has over 100 seconds of screen time and in his role as a senator he essentially makes the Empire possible.
Star Wars characters that have become cult favorites because of their distinctive names, costumes, or looks also eclipse Rose's 76 seconds. Dexter Jettster (Ronald Falk), who inexplicably works at a fifties-style diner in a galaxy far, far away, has a full 1:43, 103 seconds, on screen during Attack of the Clones, Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch) appears for just under two minutes across The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and Admiral Ackbar proclaims that "it's a trap" just before his 76th second on screen while leading the attack to destroy the second Death Star. Ironically, the scene featuring the sacrifice of Rose's sister, Paige Tico, in the opening battle of The Last Jedi lasts a full 1:45, more than Rose is allotted in the film's direct sequel.
Overall, so many characters having more screen time and importance to the films' plots than Rose, who played such a pivotal role in The Last Jedi, may have been a creative choice - one that writers J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio defended - but legitimate objections based on the importance of Asian-American representation are borne out by the data: Rose has less screen time than so many minor characters throughout the franchise. Fans of Rose are reasonably disappointed by her sidelining in The Rise of Skywalker, and they’ll have to wait for a potential Disney+ series to see her journey continue.
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