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Star Wars: Episode IX Newcomer Naomi Ackie Inspired by Kelly Marie Tran


Star Wars fans might dream about appearing in one of Lucasfilm's Star Wars projects, but it isn't easy being a part of the galaxy far, far away. Not only do actors have to deal with the meticulous work of bringing the Star Wars franchise to life, but they also have to deal with overbearing Star Wars fans as well, some of whom openly criticize and attack the cast because of the characters they portray.

The End of the F***ing World star Naomi Ackie knows very well what kind of challenges that she's going to face now that she's set to be a part of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and so the actress decided to take a bit of advice from her co-star Kelly Marie Tran.

Tran was first introduced in Star Wars: The Last Jedi as a plot device to help further develop Finn's (John Boyega) character, and while she didn't do anything wrong in the movie, The Last Jedi haters viciously attacked the actress. In the end, Tran was forced to leave social media after the bullying became too intense. Seeing her experience with Star Wars trolls, Ackie went to the right place for advice about the franchise.

"I think watching the experience of Kelly Marie Tran and talking to her, I got a lot of inspiration from her about how to grow a thicker skin when it comes to people's opinions of not just your work, [also] who you are," Ackie said in an interview with Metro.

According to the actress, she's lucky because there isn't that much time to bother about other people's opinions when the Episode IX team is so busy working on the movie.

"But at this point, I feel like I'm in a good place, I'm ready for people to see it," Ackie said, "And, hey, I think it's gonna be great. If people don't like it, they don't like it. And if they don't like me, that's alright."

Right now we don't know that much about Ackie's character, Jannah, however, there have been rumors that the character may very well be tied to Billy Dee William's Lando Calrissian.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres December 20, 2019.

Read: Disney CEO Bob Iger Says More Star Wars Shows are in Development for Disney+

For more articles like this, take a look at our Star Wars: Episode IX page.