‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Director Jon M. Chu Wants Justice For Rose Tico, Offers To Direct Disney+ Series Starring Kelly Marie Tran
WhenKelly Marie Tranmade her debut inStar Wars: The Last Jedias the lowly Resistance mechanic Rose Tico, she represented several things rarely seen in aStar Warsfilm: she was the first woman of color to play a lead in aStar Warsmovie and she was the first character in the main feature film franchise to give a voice to the countless victims of the war raging throughout the galaxy far, far away. In a sci-fi franchise about princesses and smugglers and chosen heroes, Rose Tico was the normal civilian who rose to be a hero and articulated the overall message ofThe Last Jedi: “That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.”
But inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rose was all but missing from action. Barely acknowledged by Finn, her presumable love interest with whom she had just gone on a planet-hopping journey, and reduced to looking at starship plans for two hours, she was badly sidelined in the movie (apparently due totechnical troubles). ButCrazy Rich AsiansdirectorJon M. Chuhas a solution: a Rose Tico TV show onDisney+. And he is offering to direct it.
Jon M. Chu is joining the masses who are decrying thesidelining of Rose Tico. The director ofCrazy Rich AsiansandIn the Heightshas long been a supporter of diverse stories and creators, and he recently used his clout to show support for a character who had been the target of extreme, often racist, vitriol.
“Ok@disneyplus. Put me in coach. Let’s make this series happen,” Chu tweeted on Friday, adding the hashtag#RoseTicoDeservedBetter before tagging the@starwars handle.
Ok@disneyplus. Put me in coach. Let’s make this series happen.#RoseTicoDeservedBetter@starwars
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu)July 14, 2025
Nothing has come from Chu’s call to action yet, except for the tweet going viral and sparking another wave of sympathy for Tran’s character. DirectorJ.J. Abrams' co-writerChris Terriolamely explainedthat the reason Rose was pushed to the background ofThe Rise of Skywalkerwas because of the “difficulty” in creating the CGI for General Leia Organa out of archival footage ofCarrie Fisher. But Terrio didn’t address how the extreme racist backlash to Rose in the aftermath ofThe Last Jedigot so bad that Tran left social media — backlash thatThe Rise of Skywalkerteam inadvertently validated by sidelining Rose Tico. However, Disney could still make good if they gave the character a Disney+ TV show of her own — perhaps in the vein of the fan art that popped up in response toRose’s absencefromThe Rise of Skywalkermerchandise and marketing.
It wouldn’t be the first time characters from theStar Warsfilms made the transition to TV:Rogue One’s Diego Luna is reprising his role as Cassian Andor in a Disney+ series, and there is of course the impending Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series starring Ewan McGregor. Tran is a talent waiting to be unleashed, and she would shine on Disney+, which would hopefully give Rose the justice she deserves.
