Star Wars: Episode IX just picked up Lost and Lord of the Rings alum Dominic Monaghan for an unspecified role in the 2019 film.
JJ Abrams--who also directed The Force Awakens--reunites with Monaghan for the Episode IX, according to Deadline, and this will be the first time the two have worked together since the 2004 ABC series Lost, in which Monaghan played Charlie Pace. The actor is also well known for his work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy where he played the hobbit Meriadoc Brandybuck.
Things are slowly coming together for the next installment in the Star Wars saga, with filming already underway in the UK, as recent set pictures revealed Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) climbing a hill in front of some horse-looking creatures. Abrams tweeted the first set picture at the beginning of August which showed Boyega in a ship cockpit, but it's a bit hard to make out, since the background is blurred out.
Monaghan joins the ensemble cast which also features Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Lupita Nyong'o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), and Carrie Fisher, as Abrams will utilize unused footage from previous films. Additionally, newcomers Keri Russell, Naomi Acki, and Richard E. Grant join Episode IX as well, and like Monaghan, their roles are also unknown as of this writing.
Tran recently left social media due to online harassment and recently discussed this in a New York Times piece about her experiences and said, "I am the first woman of color to have a leading role in a Star Wars movie. I am the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair. My real name is Loan. And I am just getting started."
There's still a long wait for the next Star Wars movie to come to theaters. Episode IX is slated to come out on December 20, 2019.