The popular 40-year-old Star Wars franchise has revealed that a new female character in the eighth film “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” will be played by a Vietnamese-American.

During the Star Wars Celebration at the Orange County Convention Centre in Orlando, Director Rian Johnson said Kelly Marie Tran will play the character of Rose, a maintenance worker in the Resistance.

Tran, whose biggest previous credit was a handful of appearances on American television series’ Life on Normal Street, will be joining the main heroes from “The Force Awakens”.

Though not much else was made known about Tran’s character during the panel, Johnson stated that her part will be the biggest new role in the film.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is still in post-production, is scheduled for release in December.

– TiVi Tuan-san