Star Wars is serious business — even family business — for Billie Lourd. As the daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, Lourd’s spent her whole life in the franchise’s orbit. She’s been outspoken about reconciling Fisher’s legacy with her role as Princess Leia, especially after joining Fisher in front of the camera.
Lourd first appeared as Resistance Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix in The Force Awakens, and has only become more involved in the franchise since. Following Fisher’s passing in 2017, Lourd has become the “keeper” of Princess Leia, standing in for a younger version of the character in a Rise of Skywalker flashback. Returning to that galaxy far away has been a “difficult” experience for Lourd, but nowadays, the actress is keen to reprise her role as Connix.
“I would do anything to come back to any Star Wars franchise. I am absolutely available,” Lourd tells Inverse. “Getting to play Connix was such a gift, and to get to do it again would just be insane.”
It’s been five years since the Skywalker saga came to a dubious end with The Rise of Skywalker, but the 2019 film left plenty of room for its characters to return in future projects. Daisy Ridley is set to return as Rey Skywalker in a standalone film, the first set in a post-Empire, post-First Order era. So far Ridley is the only cast member confirmed to return, but there’s every chance her co-stars from the sequels, Lourd included, could pop up too.
Lourd is certainly open for a reunion, but there’s one sequel alum she’d especially like to team up with in a new project: “Honestly? Rose [Tico], baby. Kelly Marie Tran is one of my favorite people of all time, and I would love to team up with her. We should do a buddy comedy: Rose and Connix.”
A Rose and Connix team-up would be an intriguing sequel follow-up. Rise of Skywalker faced scrutiny for sidelining Rose: she appeared for little over a minute in the two-hour film. It felt like a considerable downgrade from her appearance in The Last Jedi, and the filmmakers never quite explained her diminished role.
Tran has since moved on from the Star Wars franchise. “I miss Rose,” she told IGN in 2021, “but when I think about Rose specifically and who I was then and how I was able to tap into certain parts of myself, I don’t know if I could play her again.”
Have her feelings changed since? It’s been a few years since The Rise of Skywalker, and fans seem eager for the story to continue. Characters like Rose and Connix never got the chance to shine, and Lucasfilm could certainly do worse than a lighthearted spin-off featuring former Resistance fighters. Whenever Lourd returns, she’ll be ready to both play her own part in the franchise and safeguard her mother’s legacy.
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