Exclusive: The Rise of Skywalker’s Dominic Monaghan comments on whether he would be willing to return as Beaumont Kin for future Star Wars projects.
The Rise of Skywalker‘s Dominic Monaghan addresses whether he would be willing to return for future installments of the Star Wars franchise. Monaghan is perhaps best known for his role as Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He would go on to play the down-on-his-luck musician Charlie Pace in JJ Abrams’ hit television series Lost, and in 2018 he reunited with Abrams to film The Rise of Skywalker, the final film in Disney’s sequel trilogy.
Monaghan’s character, Beaumont Kin, is a member of the Resistance Army and serves as a captain in the intelligence division. Prior to his appearance in The Rise of Skywalkerhis character was first introduced in the 2019 comic The Ghosts of Kashyyyk: Part I, which was published as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker multimedia project. While Beaumont’s role in The Rise of Skywalker was relatively minor, the character would later appear in a much greater capacity in the Star Wars novel Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher. Set prior to the events of The Force AwakensBeaumont is introduced as an academic and an archaeologist prior to his joining the Resistance.
Screen Rant caught up with Monaghan during San Diego Comic-Con and spoke to him about his Star Wars role, asking if he was familiar with Beaumont’s presence in the new novel. Admitting that he is still yet to read the book, he expresses his enthusiasm for the character and suggests he “would love to play Beaumont again.Check out his full comments below:
I heard this. I’m gonna have to read this book. A few people have told me on Instagram that Beaumont, my character, features in the book relatively significantly; that he does a few things and has a relatively crucial role in it.
I was really tickled by the fact that the Star Wars encyclopedia came out after The Rise of Skywalker, and my character got a double-page spread. They kind of extended on his previous life: he had a complicated relationship with his parents, and they didn’t want him to go into the Resistance. They kind of rejected him when he did, and then he became a high flyer in the university; graduated with honors and became a really intelligent codebreaker.
I think there’s a lot to that character. I love that universe. Obviously, I would love to play Beaumont again.
Most fans would agree that despite the importance placed on Monaghan’s character in the promotional leadup to the Rise of Skywalker’s release, his character was not explored in any great depth and ultimately had little impact on the events of the film. As the Star Wars franchise continues to evolve, however, his character has a great deal more potential to be seen than was ever realized on film. With a plethora of new Star Wars content planned, perhaps Lucasfilm will decide to bring Monaghan back at some point and treat his character with the respect he deserves.
Of course, one of the major hurdles Monaghan will face in returning to Star Wars is the franchise’s current emphasis on other time periods. Seemingly content to leave the sequel timeline alone, much of Lucasfilm’s current efforts have all been focused in either the time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope (the timeline during which Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andorra are set) or during the era of The Mandalorians (five years later Return of the Jedi). Beaumont’s character would either be too young or not born yet in these time periods, and would require a project set closer to the events of the sequels. In the meantime, fans will need to keep their fingers crossed that The Rise of Skywalker won’t be the last they see of Beaumont Kin.
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