Rogue One: A Star Wars Story just opened in theaters and continues to excite moviegoers, but always in motion is the future for Lucasfilm. In just about a year, Star Wars: Episode VIII will premiere, continuing the Skywalker family saga with the next chapter of Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren's journeys. Writer/director Rian Johnson is already hard at work in the editing bay, and legendary composer John Williams is starting to piece together his next musical score. Lucasfilm won't begin marketing Star Wars 8 until some time next year (after Rogue One has its moment in the spotlight), but that hasn't stopped the rumors from swirling around.
Many can't wait to see the principal characters of the sequel trilogy back on the big screen, but they're hardly the only figures from The Force Awakens that will return for the followup. Fans might recall that Carrie Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd had a cameo role as Lieutenant Connix, where she addressed General Leia in a single line of dialogue. While Connix may not be a main focus of Star Wars 8, Lourd has now confirmed she is in the highly-anticipated film and the part has been somewhat expanded.
In an interview with BUILD Series about the series Scream Queens, Lourd was asked about the galaxy far, far away and what viewers can expect from her in Episode VIII. After joking, "Connix is back and better than ever," the actress revealed that she has more than one line in the movie, but stopped short of mentioning any specifics. The conversation then turned to Lourd's experience working on a film with her mother and how both of them were more relaxed this time around than on Episode VII.
Since Connix has been absent from the previous Star Wars 8 speculation, moviegoers are left to their own devices to figure out how she'll factor into this narrative. It has been rumored that Leia is attacked in an ambush and falls into a coma, so perhaps the young lieutenant steps up into a leadership position for the Resistance. Some might theorize that Connix will accompany Finn and/or Poe Dameron on whatever their mission is, but it sounds as if that's for Kelly Marie Tran's mystery character. In all likelihood, Connix's part will be similar to that of Wedge Antillies in the original trilogy - a small, recurring role to fill out members of the Resistance. Unless Connix suits up for action, she'll probably once again be in the control room monitoring a battle to make sure the heroes maintain an upper hand.
This admittedly isn't the juiciest update on Episode VIII, but it's still nice to hear that Johnson found a spot for Lourd and is giving her more to do. Considering Connix isn't killed off, she'll probably be included in Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars: Episode IX as well. It would appear that in addition to the celebrity stormtrooper cameo, spotting Carrie Fisher's daughter is going to be a tradition in the modern saga installments, giving the films a nice family touch.
Source: BUILD Series
