7 Actors, Signers, and Director: Latin America’s Contribution to Star Wars

Contrary to what one might think, Latin America has been present in the franchise since the beginning.

For the first film of the saga, known today as Episode IV: A New Hope (Episode IV: A New Hope) which was released in 1977, the Archaeological Park of Tikal (Guatemala) was chosen as the setting for the Recreate the rebel base Fighting against the galactic empire.

After 39 years, impressive Mayan temples, considered by some to come from another world, reappear in Rogue One.

For Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII: The Last Jedis), the second feature film of the latest trilogy, Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) was the venue chosen for fencing Enter Aged Luke Skywalker and his nephew Ben Soloalso known as the Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren.

However, over the years, Latin America’s contribution has been increasing and has gone beyond scenic landscapes to recreate worlds right up to the cast.

Thus, in the so-called prequels, an American actor, of Puerto Rican and Suriname origin, Jimmy Smits took on the role of Senator Bale OrganaThe adoptive father of Princess Leia. A role he has resumed for Rogue One and the Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi TV series, which Disney+ premiered this year.

In Rogue One in particular, Mexican rebel Diego Luna portrayed Cassian Andor, the character he played again this year in a series entirely dedicated to this rebel.

“It was long process (…) But I had time to follow the project from the beginning, explore these issues, and give my opinion,” the actor best known for his role in And your mother too He was also one of the show’s producers.

In the final trilogy, which takes place 34 years after the saga began, Guatemalan actor Oscar Isaac enters into the skin of another rebel: Fighter pilot P.Oh Damron. While Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, who is of Kenyan and Mexican descent, voiced the wise Maz Kanata in these tapes.

Puerto Rican Benicio del Toro, who won the 2000 Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Traffic, won a small role in Episode VIII.

But the list does not stop here. Thus, having succeeded as Oberyn Martell in Games of Thrones (Game of Thrones), Chilean Pedro Pascal leaped to the stars with his interpretation of gaven Djarin or Driving, in The Mandalorian And the Boba Fett book. In the second season of this production, Rosario Dawson, a Cuban-American actress, who played Ahsoka Tanu, appeared.

The premiere of the third season of the show was scheduled for February 2023, which turned out to be a success with the audience.

“People will go crazyPascal has promised in various interviews in recent weeks.

Latin American talent was not limited to the actors in the various productions of the epic, but also made it to the production stage. This is the situation boss Saul Ruizwho has already taken the reins of The Bad Batch (El Lote Malo, in the region or La Mala Remesa, in Spain) and is now one of those running the recently launched The Jedi Tales (Jedis Stories).

Nathaniel Villanueva, one of the directors of the new 3D animation production, confirmed to BBC Mundo that the origins of his colleague Ruiz can be found south of the Rio Grande.

This massive increase in Star Wars talent in Latin America came as no surprise to some. One of them was film critic and screenwriter Robert Andres Gómez who said:star wars world he is Multicultural, so it is fitting that the cast, creativity and development team should be as well. “

However, the guest professor at the University of Valladolid Film Chair (Spain) ruled out that this situation was due to the so-called “cultural awakening” and attributed this to the politics of the saga, at least as far as it refers to the actors.

At LucasFilm and Disney, they follow the trend born with the original franchise of Do not resort to well-known interpretersGomez said in an interview with BBC Mundo.

“Why is this happening? Because The world of Star Wars is the most important thing And because it is easier to sympathize with an actor who is not well known. actor like Tom Cruise can’t be in Star Wars. Pedro Pascal’s example is a great actor, but his face is hardly seen and few will accept it.”

Gomez also analyzed Andor’s case. “This was a minor character in Rogue One, but his influence on the audience was so great that he was able to open a vein for the series,” he said.

Film critic Humberto Sanchez Amaya, for his part, has not ruled out that these insertions are part of a deliberate attempt by the multinational entertainment company to reach new audiences and markets, with a less Anglo-Saxon cast.

“There’s an eagerness in Disney to do what they’ve never done before. I feel like Disney is there Very clear intention to respond to the speech of inclusivenessof representation and diversity, and at times it seems that more importance is given to the reality of inclusion than to quality,” he noted.

Finally, Sanchez Amaya considered that this increase in Latin American presence in Star Wars was going to happen, sooner or later, because “Latin immigration to the United States does not stop, and among these immigrants there are actors, producers, directors and other staff who will seek to make a pit.”

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