20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

One of the most prominent new characters in the sequel trilogy was Resistance mechanic Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), who first showed up in The Last Jedi and quickly became a romantic interest for Finn.

Despite the generally positive response to the character, actress Kelly Marie Tran received a torrent of sexist and racist abuse following the film's release.

Numerous public figures came out in support of Tran, and so it was hugely surprising for fans when Rose ended up having nothing more than a glorified cameo in The Rise of Skywalker, appearing on-screen for a grand total of just 76 seconds in the 142-minute movie.

Many interpreted this as J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm kotowing to the misogynists and racists who complained about Rose's inclusion in The Last Jedi.

However, the film's co-writer Chris Terrio later stated that Rose was supposed to have a larger role opposite Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), but when some of the digitally altered footage to facilitate the late Fisher's inclusion didn't meet the required standard, her part had to be trimmed down.

As for Tran, she was diplomatic about her reduced role, saying at the 2020 Oscars, "At the end of the day I got to be part of something bigger than me, and that's really special."