ORLANDO -- "Look at her," said Luke Skywalker, aka Mark Hamill. "If she were any cuter, she'd be a Disney character." The object of Jedi adoration was Kelly Marie Tran, the most recently unveiled cast member of 。 The Last Jedi.。 The Last Jedi.。

She plays a character called Rose.。

At Star Wars Celebration Friday, Tran endeared herself to fandom with the elaborate ruse she'd used to prevent her parents from blabbing the secret. She'd told them she was filming an indie movie in Canada -- and even sent them bottles of maple syrup to burnish the cover story.。

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But more important than her bubbly personality was the level of representation Tran brings to the cast. It isn't just that she's the first Asian American to join the ongoing Skywalker saga, or that she helps inch Star Wars ever closer to gender parity.
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No, it's mostly the fact that Rose is a maintenance worker -- a regular working-class hero in a galaxy that has become a little overpopulated by generals, royals, crime bosses and other assorted ambassadors of privilege.。

The first glimpse of Rose in 'The Last Jedi.'Credit: lucasfilm 。

Sure, you could argue that Luke himself was working class; a moisture farmboy from a planet that's about as far from the bright center of the galaxy as you can get. That was until it turned out he was actually slumming it -- an adopted princeling born to a war hero/Sith Lord on one side and a literal Queen/Senator on the other.。

The prequels gave us practically nothing but highborn Galactic Republic leaders and snooty Jedi. Its closest thing to a regular Joe: Jar Jar Binks.。Mashable Top StoriesStay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news.Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter 。By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 。

By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.。 Thanks for signing up! 。Even
。 Rogue One。, which promised to deliver Star Wars from the average soldier's perspective --。

Saving Private Ryan。 in space, Lucasfilm called it -- had plenty of aristocratic attitude. The hero Jyn Erso was the daughter of a well-connected, albeit reluctant, Imperial weapons scientist. The leaders on each side, Grand Moff Tarkin and Senator Mon Mothma, spoke like they went to the same private school.。But there are signs that the sequel trilogy set out to take a different approach.。

But there are signs that the sequel trilogy set out to take a different approach.。

The Force Awakens。

brought us Finn, the first rank-and-file stormtrooper to become a focus of the story. (The jury is still out on Rey, another orphan who may yet turn out to be someone born for success, but at least she had a far harder upbringing than Luke.)。

SEE ALSO:The first 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' poster will take your breath away 。

Now here comes Rose, an average maintenance worker for the Resistance. The kind of character usually relegated to the background of a single scene, normally played by an extra who isn't even in focus.。 “This possibility that any of us could step up and become a hero, that’s where Rose comes from,” director Rian Johnson said.
。"She’s not looking to be a hero, and she gets pulled a very big way into an adventure in this movie with Finn." 。 Obviously we don't know her backstory yet, but her elevation to a character major enough to share the stage with Luke, Finn and Rey feels like a major statement. This is the sort of thing you'd see on 。Battlestar Galactica。

Battlestar Galactica 。 , the kind of everyperson companion we get on。Doctor Who
。 -- indeed, Rose shares her name with the first and most vital companion of that show's new era.。From everything we've seen of Kelly Marie Tran so far, she has the appeal and the comedy chops (in shorts such as。

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Ladies Like Us 。

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, which is a kind of suburban。

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Broad City 。

) to do what her Whovian namesake did. Namely, to pull a lot of people who normally wouldn't watch this science fiction stuff into a whole new universe.
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