Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker actor wants to see the director’s cut
“There was so much stuff,” according to Dominic Monaghan
In the wake of increased hubbub (and Twitter trends) surrounding Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the call for a so-called "J.J. Abrams Cut" to be released, actor Dominic Monaghan – who plays Resistance member Beaumont Kin in Episode 9 – has revealed he, too, wants to see the director’s cut. The Lost alumni has also suggested that several scenes were left on the cutting room floor, and expanded on two moments involving his character that didn’t make it into the finished product.
“Like a lot of Star Wars fans, I’m hoping there will be a director’s cut so we’ll get to see more and more of the stuff that was filmed,” Monaghan tells THR in a recent interview before teasing: “I wasn’t there all the time, but even in the short time that I was there, there was so much stuff filmed that didn’t make it to the theatrical version.”
Of note, Monaghan elaborates on two Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker scenes in particular that he was involved in that could ultimately end up being part of the J.J. Cut.
The first involves Billie Lourd’s character Lieutenant Cronnix: “Another thing that we will hopefully see at some point in the future is that in the final battle, Connix injures her leg. Obviously, myself, Rose and Connix are exiting the battle, and Rose has a weapon. While Rose is busy doing stuff, I grab Connix’s arm and put it over my shoulder to make sure that all of us come back as unscathed as possible.”
There’s also more of Beaumont’s backstory that wasn’t featured in St ar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. As Monaghan explains, “One of the things about my character that was a little bit more established — in terms of everything that we filmed — was that he was a code-breaker, Beaumont. So, a lot of the information that had come to our heroes had come through Beaumont.”
Monaghan even winks at the idea that some of the characters introduced in Rise of Skywalker could return down the line, potentially in a Disney Plus series. After having his backstory fleshed out in a recent Star Wars comic, Monaghan said: “The more backstory that you get with Beaumont, there’s potentially a chance that maybe we could continue to explore that story.”
So, while Beaumont (and others) didn’t get every moment in the spotlight for Abrams’ saga-ender, there’s a chance that we will dive deeper, be it in director’s cuts or future series, at some point in a galaxy far, far away.
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For more spoiler-filled analysis on The Rise of Skywalker check out:
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I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.