Good luck, Keri Russell. You are officially part of one of the most debated and dissected franchises on the planet.
Variety is reporting that the actress, who has been killing it over at FX’s “The Americans,” has signed on to star in the upcoming mega-blockbuster “Star Wars: Episode IX.” There are no real details about the role, but the report claims that it will call for “action-heavy fight scenes,” which could mean a variety of things. And no, we don’t know if she’ll be part of the Resistance or the First Order.
The report also says that Russell was part of a group of several actresses vying for the role, but ultimately, director J.J. Abrams settled on a familiar face for his next film. Previous to ‘Episode IX,’ Abrams have worked together on two other projects, including Russell’s star-making turn as the titular character in the TV series “Felicity.” They also teamed up for Abrams big-screen directorial debut, “Mission: Impossible III.”
As mentioned above, Russell is coming off her incredible performance in the critically-acclaimed FX drama, “The Americans.” That series recently finished its run, and clearly, Russell now has enough free time to visit the galaxy far, far away. Variety also claims that Abrams is looking to cast a couple other actors for prominent roles soon, as they begin production on the film at the end of this month.
There’s a lot of speculation surrounding ‘Episode IX.’ Behind-the-scenes drama came to the surface when Lucasfilm fired original filmmaker Colin Trevorrow, and replaced him with Abrams as director, and hired Lawrence Kasdan to help work on the script. From there, things only got more interesting, as Rian Johnson’s ‘The Last Jedi’ has become one of the most polarizing films in franchise history, leading many to wonder if Abrams is aboard to “save” the franchise.
Either way, Russell now joins a production with a ton of baggage and anticipation. Let’s just hope she has a smoother ride in the “Star Wars” universe than previous new female additions like Daisey Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran.