‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ Adds Dominic Monaghan
The next chapter in the Star Wars saga just turned into a LOST reunion, as Dominic Monaghan has joined the cast of Episode IX. Monaghan, who also appeared in Peter Jackson’s Lords of the Rings trilogy, will re-team with director J.J. Abrams for the upcoming sequel, which will conclude the Skywalker family story once and for all.
Deadline reports that Monaghan is the latest actor to join the growing cast of Star Wars: Episode IX, which recently began filming just outside London. (Leaked set photos published by The Sun this week gave us an early sneak peek at Finn, Poe and Chewbacca.) Monaghan previously starred in the hit TV series LOST; executive produced and co-created by Abrams, the show introduced audiences to the filmmaker’s divisive “mystery box” style.
Little is known about Episode IX or who Monaghan might be playing in the trilogy closer. The actor joins fellow Star Wars newcomers Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant (who is not playing Admiral Thrawn, despite the striking resemblance) and Naomi Ackie. Returning cast members include John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Kelly Marie Tran, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. Billy Dee Williams will reprise the iconic role of Lando Calrissian, while Abrams will incorporate previously unused footage of Carrie Fisher’s General Leia — with her family’s blessing.
Abrams co-wrote the screenplay for Episode IX with Chris Terrio, the Oscar-winning writer of Argo and, um, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Episode IX hits theaters on December 20, 2019.