'#RoseTicoDeservedBetter' Trends After Fans Criticize 'Star Wars' Character's Diminished Role

“Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” is receiving mixed reviews among critics and long-time Star Wars fans alike, with many people not liking the direction taken with a few characters. One character, in particular, that’s causing quite a stir online is Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico, who apparently did not receive the screen time many fans wanted.

At press time, “#RoseTicoDeservedBetter is the number one thing trending on Twitter, with thousands of people complaining that the character first introduced in “The Last Jedi” got somewhat booted. What’s worse, they feel she was booted for the wrong reasons.

“The Last Jedi” had an even stronger impact amongst fans and critics, but this time in reverse: “Rise of Skywalker” is doing poorly amongst critics (55% on Rotten Tomatoes), yet audiences are enjoying it a bit more (86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes); “The Last Jedi” on the other hand received high critical praise (91% on Rotten Tomatoes) and was received poorly amongst long-time fans (43% audience score).

The backlash with “The Last Jedi” unfortunately spawned a wave of online trolls, who blamed their perceived issues with the movies on the actresses playing Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Rose Tico -- both of whom were bullied. The trolls seemed to make their demands that they didn’t want Tran’s character to make an appearance in the next one.

Responses on Twitter seem to lead people to believe that decreasing Rose Tico’s role in the follow-up was a deliberate response to these trolls and their “demands,” upsetting those who are fans of her character. Needless to say, it’s not being received well.

There is no official reason as to why J.J. Abrams decreased Tran’s role for “Rise of Skywalker,” but some Twitter users are taking the other side to offer up their own explanations as to why her role was chopped down a bit.

Collider points out a major issue with Abrams’ version of Star Wars and by extension any movie he adapts from a much-beloved fan-favorite franchise, stating that Abrams tends to opt-out of personal character arcs in favor of audiences experiences, which could explain the decision about Rose Tico.

With that said, Tico also isn’t a nostalgic character, as she really had only been in the one film. As a result, there is a possibility she was sidelined in “Rise of Skywalker” in favor of older characters.

Whatever the reason, there’s no doubt that fans believe #RoseTicoDeservedBetter.