Matt Smith joins the cast of Star Wars: Episode IX for a key role

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

From Sonic Screwdriver to Lightsaber, it looks like Matt Smith (Doctor Who) will be heading to a galaxy far, far away as Variety has reported that the actor will be joining the cast of STAR WARS: EPISODE IX.

As expected, the nature of Matt Smith's character in the film is being kept under wraps but it's said to be a "key role." Resistance? First Order? Alien? Jedi? Sith? Let the guessing game begin. Matt Smith recently played Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the first two seasons of Netflix's The Crown, and even scored an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Smith will be joining John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joona Suotamo, and Billie Lourd in the film, who will all be returning for the final installment of the Skywalker Saga along with Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher. Smith's fellow STAR WARS-newbies include Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who), Richard E. Grant (LOGAN), Keri Russell (The Americans), and Dominic Monaghan (Lost), but much like Smith's role, the nature of their characters remains a mystery as well.

If you're wondering just how the late Carrie Fisher will be appearing in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, well it seems that they'll be using previously unreleased footage from THE FORCE AWAKENS and THE LAST JEDI. "We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," Abrams said. "Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII."

STAR WARS: EPISODE IX will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.