Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Does Rose have a tragic backstory?

With just two weeks to go until The Last Jedi, the ante is being upped in terms of the new information we’re being given every day.

Today, it’s the turn of newcomer Rose Tico, played by Kelly Marie Tran, who is reportedly going to have a rather tragic backstory as a result of what happened inThe Force Awakens.

According to Inverse, a new tie-in novel reveals that Rose is part of Cobalt Squadron, as its mechanic, together with her sister Paige (a gunner) and human bomber Nix. But one person is missing — Ello Asty, the Abednedo pilot you might remember getting shot down during the assault on Starkiller Base.

Inverse points out that although we don’t know the actual relationship between Rose and Ello, it’s likely that she will feel his loss, especially since it seems to have led to the disbanding of her team. Rose will be separated from her sister and Nix as she embarks on a solo mission with Finn at the casino city Canto Bight.

Is it loss that led Rose to the Resistance in the first place?

Rose is no stranger to sadness, however. We’ve known from previous interviews that she has lost a lot prior to her debut in The Last Jedi.

Speaking of her admiration for Finn, John Boyega told Entertainment Weekly: “He’s a hero to people like Rose, who fight for the Resistance because their homes have been destroyed by the First Order.”

There is no mention thus far of Rose and Paige’s parents, so as with a lot of people in the Resistance, there’s the chance that loss has driven them there.

Tran has said that Rose views herself as a “background player”. “She’s not the best. She’s not royalty. She’s someone who is just like everyone else,” she told EW.

Now we know her mission with Finn is going to be the making of him, in that Rose’s hero-worshipping of him makes him want to be the person she believes him to be. But we also hope it’ll help her find her own heroism inside herself.

Because an everyday hero is the one the world needs right now.

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