Here’s one issue with Millie Bobby Brown coming to Star Wars, and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the ‘girl power’ feeling that Kathleen Kennedy has taken few if any, pains to hide. It has to do with a line that’s been stated and repeated, that Brown wouldn’t even have to audition due to her acting ability. That’s all well and good if there’s a part in the Star Wars franchise that is custom-made for her, but until it’s revealed that this is the case, seeing Brown enter the franchise with little to no difficulty, this feels like a mild insult to those that have almost had to beg and plead to be a part of the franchise. Some might state that the audition process comes down to who has more clout in the business, and they’d likely be right. When the original actors for the Star Wars movies came along they had to audition since they weren’t that well known yet. But even this mention is still troubling since like it or not, Brown is not a perfect actress.
I know, such a statement is likely going to draw a bit of criticism and perhaps even a stout defense of the young actress. But the truth is that she’s had a great cast surrounding and supporting her quite often. On her own, she’s not bad and is getting better with each appearance. But moving from Stranger Things and Enola Holmes to the Star Wars franchise is a bit different, and despite her hefty price tag, it’s still fair to wonder if she’s going to be worth it, and if her talent is going to be used in a way that will allow her to become an integral part of the Star Wars franchise, or if she’ll be more akin to Laura Dern, in that many fans will sigh in relief when her character is gone.
Folks might not want to admit this, but the ‘girl power’ feeling that was given to Star Wars in the recent trilogy and the forced diversity that many people have cried long and hard about isn’t doing the franchise any favors, no matter what the box office numbers might say. It could be exciting to see Brown make her way into a Star Wars series or movie since she is fun to watch with the right cast and her time in one series or another at this point has been kind of nice. But it does feel as though she’s being built up in a way that will take her to a precipice at one point or another, and she’ll have to make a choice when it comes to her career as to whether she wants to soldier on and keep tempting fate, or ease back and take things easy for a while. These days if an actor isn’t advancing and doing something to further their career it usually means that they have nothing left to prove, or they’ve reached a point where they don’t need to be pushing as hard as they used to. In Millie’s case though, she’s proven that she can act, but she hasn’t yet proven that she can act in one of the biggest and most impressive franchises to ever come along.
Plenty of fans are of the mind that she’s going to do just fine, and will be worth every cent that she’s given. That’s all well and good, but there are those of us that are, as always, willing to reserve judgment until it’s seen what she can bring to the franchise. One has to remember that other stars have been included in the Star Wars saga and have done little, if anything, to really contribute to the overall story, while their reputation may or may not have benefited from their time in the movies. At this time it’s fair to state that Brown has little to lose and more to gain from joining up with this franchise, but it remains to be seen if she’s going to be a valuable asset or another famous face that’s going to be kind of ‘meh’ when it comes to the role she’s given. The idea that she could play an adolescent to the young adult version of Leia feels ambitious, especially with how fans might feel about this.
At the end of the day, Lucasfilm is doing what they feel is right, no matter what the fans say. If Millie does in fact make it big in Star Wars then it will prove a lot of naysayers wrong, and vindicate the belief that many have in her. But just to be clear, Stranger Things is not Star Wars, and there is a big step up from the current programs she’s done to the franchise that is looking to welcome her. One can hope that everything will go well, but it remains to be seen how everything will turn out.
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