Domhnall Gleeson, who will appear in Star Wars 9 (opens in new tab) as First Order scowler-in-chief General Hux, has revealed his first reaction to reading the Rise of Skywalker script – and it may not have been what he was expecting.
“It was cool. It was a page turner,” Gleeson told Collider (opens in new tab), before revealing that the Star Wars 9 script “was different than what I’d thought.” You can read between the lines and draw your own conclusion to that one.
Gleeson, perhaps fearing Disney would strike him down, didn’t share any further details, but did reveals his thoughts on getting to read the script early.
In a deliciously Hux-like show of having information no one else is privy to, he said: “Also, you feel part of this tiny club that gets to read these things ahead of other people, and that feels great. I really did enjoy that, and I think it’s going to be cool.”
Of course, us lowly subjects are never going to get a peek at the Star Wars 9 script before the movie’s release. Hopefully, with D23’s live-action panel (featuring the final entry in the current Star Wars saga) happening later this week, we’ll have a better idea of why Gleeson sounds so effusive about Rise of Skywalker. A second trailer, maybe?
It’s the fact that Star Wars 9 will be “different” to what even General Hux himself had anticipated, though, that’s the main takeaway here. The subversion of expectations in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (opens in new tab) provoked a passionate response. If the Irish actor’s reactions mirror our own when we sit down and watch it in December, Rise of Skywalker could end up doing the same thing.