Predictions for Star Wars Episode 9

[Lord Joeltion]

I don't know - I rather liked the Star Wars Union (the one with Luke & Mara's marriage) comic scenes with Kam Solusar illustrated as Bruce Willis.

Yipee ka-yay be with you, always.

[hamishspence]

Yipee ka-yay be with you, always.

Unfortunately the actual images are busted thanks to the whole Photobucket thing - but there was a big list of all the actors that had been used as the basis of Union characters:

https://roqoodepot.com/articles/unio...st-of-its-own/

Tommy Lee Jones: Wes Janson, a famous pilot in Rogue Squadron.
Steve Buscemi: Iry Danta, an Imperial soldier hired to sabotage Mara and Luke’s wedding.
Peter Stormare: Moff Derran Takkar.
Jack Nicholson: Chik Apla, a former Imperial commando who wears Imperial Guardsman armor.
Dennis Hopper? Chala Venan, another former Imperial who is hired for the job of wedding crasher.
Bruce Campbell: Banner Sumptor, yet another Imperial.
Robert Remus: a small time thug who gets into a fight with Luke and his bachelor party.
Bruce Willis: Jedi Master Kam Solusar
Ashley Judd: Iella Wessiri Antilles.
Jack Palance: Talon Karrde…at least in one picture.
Winona Ryder?: Mirax
Mira Sorvino: Mara Jade-soon-to-be-Skywalker.

[Peelee]

Unfortunately the actual images are busted thanks to the whole Photobucket thing - but there was a big list of all the actors that had been used as the basis of Union characters:

https://roqoodepot.com/articles/unio...st-of-its-own/

Ooooo, this would be awesome to see!

[clicks link]

Curse you, photobucket!

[hamishspence]

Curse you, photobucket!

The characters Wookieepedia pages still function:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Iry_Danta
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chala_Venan
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Banner_Sumptor
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Derran_Takkar
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chik_Apla

[Peelee]

Curse you, photobucket!

The characters Wookieepedia pages still function:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Iry_Danta
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chala_Venan
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Banner_Sumptor
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Derran_Takkar
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chik_Apla

Bless you, hamishspence!

[Angelalex242]

Rey and Kylo are about to bang when Luke's Force Ghost shows up and goes, "Wait...Rey, I AM your father, please don't bang your cousin."

...Rey and Kylo ignore him.

[Mightymosy]

Well, if you haven't watched Bruce and Chuck on screen, then forget them. They are special cases where 100% of the time just come off that way. Obviously Neeson and Jackson are 1000% more skilled and versatile actors, so, they are way more than just that. If you want an more accurate idea of what kind of badass I'm referring to, you can check this entry (but what the trope is about is not what I am talking here; only pay attention to the entries about Neeson and Jackson). Tropes that define the characters they tend to play well and in some aspect partially represent Qui Gon and Windu, would be the Unfettered
(Qui Gon is explicitly mentioned on the film entry, as well as Neeson's Taken character; Jackson isn't mentioned, but I think it's kinda obvious he is fond of playing similar roles); and the Unscrupulous Hero (where none of their characters are particularly mentioned; but I consider the dark/grey morality aspect of that trope also defines a lot of the characters they usually play).

Of the two you mentioned, I think Arnold simply doesn't compare to them. He is a different kind of actor; where, instead of knowing he will do anything he must to accomplish the mission; your first thought when you see him on screen is that there will be a lot of screaming, a ludicrous amount of bullets/explosions, and one or two weird face moments (or possibly more). Bruce Willis, on the other hand, played that kind of character once, on Die Hard. But I think we can all agree that a lightsaber wielding Bruce Willis is a big no-no. Just, no. Please, no.



Qui Gon is a hippie, sure; but don't forget he was also kind of a rebel, specially when it came to following the codes. He was OK with doing the right thing in unorthodox ways; tradition be damned. That's why he was included in the Unfettered trope. Windu, on the other hand, is very orthodox, but there's also his absolute hate towards the sith, and the scene with Palpatine when he was also OK with smiting evil right there, right now. When it came to justice, Mace Windu was probably the Unfettered too, specially considering he was OK with playing with the dark side to smite evil.

But I don't mean they were selected because they fitted the characters the best. I said it's possible that the reasons they were cast is because they fit a specific profile (based on their acting abilities); and if the characters didn't suit them too well in the end, that was only because the script wasn't all too well written in the first place. I'm not saying it would be impossible to recast the movie if written differently than it was*. I'm saying those specific actors were the best at doing that kind of thing on the screen, and if that's the profile producers were looking for, then there wouldn't be many better choices (available or not). It's a mere speculation, I am aware of that. But there is at least one single profile that both actors truly excel at, over the rest of all possible candidates; so that's why I gave them a pass for casting them and not other female badasses.

*Otherwise, I would be falling into the tautology "Liam Neeson is the best Qui Gon Jin because he played Qui Gon Jin in the prequels"

ETA: Just to make my point clearer; none of the aspects of those actors that I was referring to have anything to do with being a macho or extremely violent. It's more about their stance, and how believable they are when in that kind of pose/mood.

I think where we hugely differ is still how you and I view these roles and these actors.

I clicked on your link to "Memetic Badass" and read through the description.
And I wouldn't have thought of neither Qui Gon nor Mace Windu.
Nor of Jackson nor Neesom.

I think the difference may well be that you know these two from various other movies and have built expectations - while I didn't quite know them as well and thus viewed Qui Gon and Mace simply as their respective characters.

To be specific: Maybe you thought this when you saw Qui Gon /Neesom:
"he's been Zeus and Jesus, and he's trained Batman and Darth Vader; how stupid do you have to be to try to kidnap his daughter?" (from your article)

And I thought: "Hippie Jedi. Ok. That's cool. I think I like him"
(thanks for the word, that word I was scrambling for in my last post )

So, how about Linda Hamilton?
I only know her from Terminator, but from that she invokes:
badass action (but still HUMAN -important for good Jedi)
goes on her own way no matter what (rebellious)
has compassion for mankind (i.e. other people, i.e. Anakin)

I assume she could play Qui Gon a.k.a. rebellious hippie Jedi really well.

Rey and Kylo are about to bang when Luke's Force Ghost shows up and goes, "Wait...Rey, I AM your father, please don't bang your cousin."

...Rey and Kylo ignore him.

ROFL

[hamishspence]

Ramming: Given who's working on it, I expect it to go something like this.

"Oh, Hux was such a moron he dropped his shields to keep more power in the engines and weapons to hit from out of range, but Saint Hodo was so amazing and brilliant and perfect that she remembered that with shields down, ramming was possible and a light speed ram could cause the debris form the first collision to take out the other ships and thus let the transport ships get to the base!"

The TLJ novelization doesn't make any reference to the shields being down. Interestingly, Holdo doesn't come up with the ram idea until after the transports start being fired upon. In fact, it's thanks to Poe Dameron having recently programmed a hyperspace jump (before his mutiny was put down by Leia) - that it's possible to jump into the Supremacy in the first place. Chances are that had that jump not been programmed, the transport fleet would all have been destroyed before Holdo had time to program a new jump.

Spoiler

Show

Page 232:

A hologram shimmered to life at her console.
"Admiral, we're taking fire!" reported a Resistance pilot, and she could hear panic in his voice. "What do we—do we turn around?"
"No! You're too far out. Full speed to planetfall! Full speed!"
An instant later the hologram flared out of existence. Holo thought she saw the pilot throw up his arms before it vanished.
Holdo choked back a dismayed cry. She had to do something. But what? There was no way the Raddus could defend the transports—they had moved beyond the protection of its shields.
A light blinked on the interface with the navicomputer.
Holdo called up the interface to dismiss whatever the alert was—it would only distract her while she tried to think—then paused.
Someone had entered hyperspace coordinates into the system, calculating a jump that had never been made. The navicomputer was asking if the coordinates should be purged.
It was Dameron, she realized—he'd rushed to the bridge as part of the plan he'd concocted, the one she'd correctly dismissed as too reckless and desperate to succeed.
Holdo called the coordinates up on her console. The Mon Calamari cruiser had kept travelling along its heading for Crait since the coordinates had been entered into the navicomputer. As a result, the entry point for the hyperspace jump Poe had calculated was now behind the Raddus, on the other side of the First Order fleet.
Holdo stared at her screen, trying to figure out what she had missed and concluded that her wild hope might not be completely unfounded.

Page 251-252:

Under ordinary operations, the presence of a sizable object along the route between the Raddus's realspace position and its entry point into hyperspace would have caused the heavy cruiser's fail-safes to cut in and shut down the hyperdrive.
But with the fail-safes offline and the overrides activated, the proximity alerts were ignored. When the heavy cruiser plowed into the Supremacy's broad flying wing, the force of the impact was at least three orders of magnitude greater than anything the Raddus's inertial dampeners were rated to handle. The protective field they generated failed immediately, but the heavy cruiser's augmented experimental shields remained intact for a moment longer before the unimaginable force of the impact converted the Raddus into a column of plasma that consumed itself.
However, the Raddus had already accelerated to nearly the speed of light at the point of that catastrophic impact—and the column of plasma it became was hotter than a sun and intensely magnetized. This plasma was then hurled into hyperspace along a tunnel opened by the null quantum-field generator—a tunnel that collapsed as quickly as it had been opened.
Both the column of plasma and the hyperspace tunnel were gone in far less than an eyeblink, but that was long enough to rip through the Supremacy's hull from bow to stern, tear a ragged hole in a string of Star Destroyers flying in formation with it, and finally wink out of existence in empty space thousands of kilometers beyond the First Order task force.

[Devonix]

I really am wondering why people were using toy sales as a measure of sucess for the movie when toy sales in general are going down. Hell Toys R Us is closing many of its stores and might not even fully exist by the end of the year. Are we blaming that on Episode 8?

[Peelee]

I really am wondering why people were using toy sales as a measure of sucess for the movie when toy sales in general are going down. Hell Toys R Us is closing many of its stores and might not even fully exist by the end of the year. Are we blaming that on Episode 8?

I blame that on TRU being horribly overpriced in a world where Amazon exists. Once Walmart starts dominating, the Woolworths and Sears's need to adapt or die.

[Mechalich]

I really am wondering why people were using toy sales as a measure of sucess for the movie when toy sales in general are going down. Hell Toys R Us is closing many of its stores and might not even fully exist by the end of the year. Are we blaming that on Episode 8?

Toys R Us has specific business problems that have limited its ability to complete and adjust. However the toy industry as a whole is not failing, at least not in the US. And in fact, you would actually expect the anticipated liquidation of Toys R Us to briefly increase toy sales as they massively discounted existing prices in an attempt to liquidate outstanding inventory.

Toys matter to the Star Wars franchise as a whole immensely. The sales of toys has, over the life of the franchise, grosses more money than the movies. They are, by far, the highest earning non-movie portion of the franchise. Books - which for decades controlled the EU plot - earn almost nothing by comparison. As a result, when you consider the success of a movie in a franchise like Star Wars the toy sales are a key component of the overall financial success. This is not limited to Star Wars, it applies to any franchise with a large toy connection like Transformers. So if the movie grosses low but the toy sales are great, that might be offsetting. However, in the case of TLJ the movie grossed low and the toy sales have been awful, making it a double blow.

It would be interesting to see in particular where the toy sale failures are. 'Toys' as a market category includes high-end collectibles that are purchased almost entirely by adults (for instance 1/6th scale figures that cost well over 100 dollars). For a franchise like Star Wars this is the part of the market where you soak the hard-core fans with disposable income. If that's where the gap is it would provide strong evidence that the movie failed to connect with the most important portion of the fanbase.

[Bobb]

I really am wondering why people were using toy sales as a measure of sucess for the movie when toy sales in general are going down. Hell Toys R Us is closing many of its stores and might not even fully exist by the end of the year. Are we blaming that on Episode 8?

In that falling market Star Wars is losing it's share. It went from the #1 brand in toy sales to not the #1 brand. That is significant apart from declining toy sales in general.

You are rationalizing away evidence of discontent with Star Wars by asking just enough questions to avoid the conclusion that people didn't like what the directors did with Star Wars. The tail is wagging the dog.

[Devonix]

In that falling market Star Wars is losing it's share. It went from the #1 brand in toy sales to not the #1 brand. That is significant apart from declining toy sales in general.

You are rationalizing away evidence of discontent with Star Wars by asking just enough questions to avoid the conclusion that people didn't like what the directors did with Star Wars. The tail is wagging the dog.

I was actually just curious. I didn't know why people were bringing up toy sales. And I work with lots of stores.

[Bobb]

I was actually just curious. I didn't know why people were bringing up toy sales. And I work with lots of stores.

My bad.

[Jayngfet]

Even before the drop Star Wars was getting beat out by Pokemon for the top spot by about ten billion. Harry Potter is way below them at no. 3 but WB is pursuing that brand more agressivley than they ever did when the books or films were coming out so it'll no doubt see heavy gains. You can argue DC and Marvel as a whole also beat out Star Wars now. Their wiki entries only handle specific subsets of that brand on the list so it's likely they both eclipsed Star Wars long ago and are once again being aggressive pursued. Back in the early 2000's Disney Princesses also beat Star Wars back when that brand became more aggressive itself, but it's fallen by the wayside as an entity.

Which is the reality of the situation for Star Wars. At it's peak it was no. 2 and it's likely to be at 4 or 5, if not now then very soon. When the first movie came out nothing was being produced with quite that much aggression and even into the 90's it was basically an empty playing field where most toy lines were one or two shows and maybe a cheap tie-in comic. But for the last 20 years or so everyone else caught up to that level of aggressive merchandising and marketing. Disney bought out the franchise and added more renewed aggression to merchandising and it's been paying off, but their choices mean they're losing enough money in total that their space is slipping as the lower rungs climb up.

The market is a cutthroat, vicious place. A consumer has only so many free hours and free dollars to spare, and every item has to compete for all of it. Disney is compensating by buying out competing brands and trying to essentially run the entire market. The problem is the ones they don't own are now run by people trying to play in the same field and this is just the first effect of that.

[Lord Joeltion]

I think where we hugely differ is still how you and I view these roles and these actors.

I clicked on your link to "Memetic Badass" and read through the description.
And I wouldn't have thought of neither Qui Gon nor Mace Windu.
Nor of Jackson nor Neesom.

That's why I told you not to fixate on the definition. "Memetic Badass" can be virtually anyone, from Nikola Tesla to Brandom Sanderson, going through Noham Chomsky (the latter is kind of one among people into Linguistics, actually). The point of showing that article was proof of how other people regarded those actors and how those opinions agreed with my postulate. You wanted an explanation why I gave them a pass; that was a partial example.

I think the difference may well be that you know these two from various other movies and have built expectations - while I didn't quite know them as well and thus viewed Qui Gon and Mace simply as their respective characters.

Well, if you don't know their careers, and how they usually perform on screen, it's pointless to try to understand my position, isn't it? You either take it for granted or not. You lack the knowledge to "disagree", you just have a different experience with them. So, it's moot to further explain, if you ask me.

To be specific: Maybe you thought this when you saw Qui Gon /Neesom:
"he's been Zeus and Jesus, and he's trained Batman and Darth Vader; how stupid do you have to be to try to kidnap his daughter?" (from your article)

And I thought: "Hippie Jedi. Ok. That's cool. I think I like him"
(thanks for the word, that word I was scrambling for in my last post )

Actually, Neesom didn't play those until way later. His skills on the screen where always there, though; and it's not implausible to believe a producer would have picked him because he saw Samuel J. levels of potential in him. I think he was always a very talented actor.

So, how about Linda Hamilton?
I only know her from Terminator, but from that she invokes:
badass action (but still HUMAN -important for good Jedi)
goes on her own way no matter what (rebellious)
has compassion for mankind (i.e. other people, i.e. Anakin)

I assume she could play Qui Gon a.k.a. rebellious hippie Jedi really well.

I already said she and Sigourney Weaver *probably* would have been able to play similar roles to Windu and Qui-Gon (although, in all honesty, they aren't as versatile as Jackson and Neesom can be). The problem with them is that they weren't such great stars to lead the movie. In every superproduction you need at least a couple superstars. Jackson was one, and Neesom was a rising one. But Weaver and Hamilton were fading stars which were never all that great except for a very specific fandom (Ghost Busters and horror/action movie fans). If you ask me, the movie wouldn't have been all that different with those women in the cast replacing them; but The Phantom Menace would probably had much more less attendance than it did. You can't underestimate the selling properties of a superstar

[Peelee]

That's why I told you not to fixate on the definition. "Memetic Badass" can be virtually anyone

Ok, you've lost me. Are you saying that anyone can be a Memetic Badass if you just ignore what it means? If so, is that not true of anything? For instance, anyone can be a tree if you don't fixate on the definition.

[GloatingSwine]

I already said she and Sigourney Weaver *probably* would have been able to play similar roles to Windu and Qui-Gon (although, in all honesty, they aren't as versatile as Jackson and Neesom can be). The problem with them is that they weren't such great stars to lead the movie. In every superproduction you need at least a couple superstars. Jackson was one, and Neesom was a rising one. But Weaver and Hamilton were fading stars which were never all that great except for a very specific fandom (Ghost Busters and horror/action movie fans). If you ask me, the movie wouldn't have been all that different with those women in the cast replacing them; but The Phantom Menace would probably had much more less attendance than it did. You can't underestimate the selling properties of a superstar

Samuel L Jackson was in the movie because he asked to be (and he had to be told not to make lightsabre noises in the action scenes when he got them), and you're somewhat overestimating how much pull Liam Neeson had in 1999. He was a Serious Actor In Serious Films like Michael Collins back then, not Liam Neeson, Terrorist Puncher as he's typecast now.

Neither were cast for "star power" at all.

[Peelee]

Samuel L Jackson was in the movie because he asked to be
[snip]
Neither were cast for "star power" at all.

First off, exactly. Anyone being in Star Wars for" "star power" is ridiculous; Star Wars makes the actors bigger, not the other way around.

Also, there's that old joke of "How do you get Sam Jackson to be in your movie?" You just offer it to him.

[Lord Joeltion]

Ok, you've lost me. Are you saying that anyone can be a Memetic Badass if you just ignore what it means? If so, is that not true of anything? For instance, anyone can be a tree if you don't fixate on the definition.

And you lost me? "Memetic Badass" is an umbrella term for basically anyone from any field which enough "memetic power" in and of itself for... reasons. Chomsky is in fact a Memetic Badass; but I never said he should be cast for Windu, didn't I?. That's why I said don't fixate on the term but on the example. The examples of Jackson and Neesom kinda explain how I see them. It wasn't examples of how memetic they were, but what kind of memes they represent. So... yeah? I wasn't bringing up the trope for its definition but to provide examples that could describe a certain point of view. They share a lot of tropes after all, and I wasn't referring to all of them in the first place.

Samuel L Jackson was in the movie because he asked to be (and he had to be told not to make lightsabre noises in the action scenes when he got them), and you're somewhat overestimating how much pull Liam Neeson had in 1999. He was a Serious Actor In Serious Films like Michael Collins back then, not Liam Neeson, Terrorist Puncher as he's typecast now.

Neither were cast for "star power" at all.

Well... actually, I wasn't explaining how I believed they were cast, but actually why I gave them a pass for being male. So maybe you're right about the true story, probably. I admit it's hard to analize for me in retrospective, given that it was so long ago and I was practically a kid. I am aware the movies Neeson did later turned him into the badass he is now. But I think Star Wars was the kickstart. I don't believe producers take into account only past career, but the potential in an actor, so, I thought that could be relevant.

I have to ask though, if he asked to be in the movie, do we know who the producers had in mind before him? Because one thing is hiring whatever actor despite how huge his name is; and a different one is stop looking once a certain name comes knocking your door, if you know what I mean...

First off, exactly. Anyone being in Star Wars for" "star power" is ridiculous; Star Wars makes the actors bigger, not the other way around.[/COLOR]

That's... one I never heard of I always thought that before the prequels, the joke was that the only legacy SW brought was Harrison Ford, and that he only survived because of Indiana Jones.

I can't think of any names who rose up after PT and received the same praise for similar roles in similar genres other than Liam Neeson. And even him is a stretch, I think. I'm sure I'm overlooking somebody though.

[Peelee]

That's... one I never heard of I always thought that before the prequels, the joke was that the only legacy SW brought was Harrison Ford, and that he only survived because of Indiana Jones.

I can't think of any names who rose up after PT and received the same praise for similar roles in similar genres other than Liam Neeson. And even him is a stretch, I think. I'm sure I'm overlooking somebody though.

Original movies didn't have their stars become huge, sure, but the hype train for Ep I was bigger than any other movie ever before. They needed exactly zero big name stars for people to be excited and go see it. And with the sequel trilogy, Daisey Ridley and John Boyega are damn near household names now. It's a massive shot in the arm for lesser known actors.

[Lord Joeltion]

Original movies didn't have their stars become huge, sure, but the hype train for Ep I was bigger than any other movie ever before. They needed exactly zero big name stars for people to be excited and go see it. And with the sequel trilogy, Daisey Ridley and John Boyega are damn near household names now. It's a massive shot in the arm for lesser known actors.

My memories of the time are fuzzy, so, okay. Having given more thought to my later phrasing, yeah, it was an overstatement; and in any case, it would be very difficult/pointless to quantify how many people were excited about the film at release and for what reasons. I think it's feasible to state that the vast majority of them were old fans and kids/teenagers; and I doubt they would care much about major names or even theatrical skills.

About Daisy and John, I dunno, man. Personally, I think John is bigger than his character; meaning that having to play Finn is a disservice to his skills. I haven't seen that much of him, but it's obvious he is more talented than that. And most of the press Daisy is having has a lot of political/RP baggage to actually assess whether she will become a big star on her own or not. If I had to bet for either of them, I'd take my pick on Finn. Rey can suffer a lot from backlash or stereotyping her future roles, which may or may not hurt her future success as an actress. So I guess Finn is our new Harrison Ford?

[Jayngfet]

About Daisy and John, I dunno, man. Personally, I think John is bigger than his character; meaning that having to play Finn is a disservice to his skills. I haven't seen that much of him, but it's obvious he is more talented than that. And most of the press Daisy is having has a lot of political/RP baggage to actually assess whether she will become a big star on her own or not. If I had to bet for either of them, I'd take my pick on Finn. Rey can suffer a lot from backlash or stereotyping her future roles, which may or may not hurt her future success as an actress. So I guess Finn is our new Harrison Ford?

The reality of who will be what is basically already set in stone. Oscar Isaac was in the AAA movie world before this on an X-Men film and has a golden globe to his name. He'll be fine. John Boyega is both producing and starring in Pacific Rim 2, a film he basically dragged out of development hell by himself. Even if the movie doesn't do well that alone can give you one hell of a reputation. Adam Driver has been in like half a dozen movies since TFA playing in essentially every genre and with big name director and actors, he'll probably be the biggest new star of this generation at this rate. Daisy Ridley's one major claim to fame is Murder on the Orient Express, an ensemble film where she was in the very back of the poster she couldn't even get her name listed on. She's the only one of the cast who has so little going on she can play Rey in every cheap tie-in that comes up and has gotten so unreasonably attached to the character she's defending them against the slightest criticism. Her only other projects are a no-budget documentary, a voiceover role on a movie that barely broke even, and a couple of upcoming films with no real buzz.

The fact is there's several leagues difference between being like Driver or Boyega and playing drastically different roles in multiple blockbusters in a single twelve month period, and being like Ridley and essentially resting on your laurels to the point where Lucasfilm essentially has to put out hype videos for your skill as an actor(lest we forget that promo where Rian Johnson tried to frame her as some kind of Son Goku esque kung fu savant).

You get out of your career what you put into it. The Star Wars prequels basically launched off like half a dozen careers. Hell, the only reason Hayden Christensen didn't become a much bigger celebrity is because he actively recoiled at the idea and went off to a farm somewhere to be forgotten about. You can see even though he's doing interviews now he's clearly uncomfortable in front of a live audience.

[Mechalich]

The ST has proportionally more actors who were already famous than either the OT or PT did, for a variety of reasons. On is the integration of TV and film acting in a way that simply didn't exist even when the PT was being made. So you can have someone like Gwendoline Christie play Captain Phasma who is massively famous for being in Game of Thrones and not for anything in film.

A number of the ST actors are arguably cashing in by being in Star Wars. Adam Driver was well-regarded critically for being in Girls, but the public did not see that show. Domhnall Gleeson has been in and continues to be in various awards-bait films (he was in Mother!), but Star Wars in the only major franchise on his imdb. Laura Dern has no need besides money to be in Star Wars - and I sure hope she got paid because she's going to suffer for being Holdo for the rest of her life. Benico del Toro was onscreen as DJ for like two minutes in TLJ but I suspect he was well compensated for that.

So it's really only three actors in significant roles: Boyega, Ridley, and in TLJ Kelly Marie Tran as Rose (who has my sympathies because was she ever given the most thankless part imaginable) who are trying to use the ST to break out in Hollywood.

[Malimar]

Domhnall Gleeson has been in and continues to be in various awards-bait films (he was in Mother!), but Star Wars in the only major franchise on his imdb.

He had a minor role as Bill Weasley in a couple of the Harry Potter movies.

[Jayngfet]

The ST has proportionally more actors who were already famous than either the OT or PT did, for a variety of reasons. On is the integration of TV and film acting in a way that simply didn't exist even when the PT was being made. So you can have someone like Gwendoline Christie play Captain Phasma who is massively famous for being in Game of Thrones and not for anything in film.

A number of the ST actors are arguably cashing in by being in Star Wars. Adam Driver was well-regarded critically for being in Girls, but the public did not see that show. Domhnall Gleeson has been in and continues to be in various awards-bait films (he was in Mother!), but Star Wars in the only major franchise on his imdb. Laura Dern has no need besides money to be in Star Wars - and I sure hope she got paid because she's going to suffer for being Holdo for the rest of her life. Benico del Toro was onscreen as DJ for like two minutes in TLJ but I suspect he was well compensated for that.

So it's really only three actors in significant roles: Boyega, Ridley, and in TLJ Kelly Marie Tran as Rose (who has my sympathies because was she ever given the most thankless part imaginable) who are trying to use the ST to break out in Hollywood.

Yeah, but that's a totally different discussion. You're talking about actors who were already major(which I would argue Jackson was at the time to some degree. Pulp Fiction had only been out for a couple of years when The Phantom Menace got into preproduction). Here we're talking about actors who continued their careers afterward.