Sigourney Weaver is already a sci-fi legend, but she's finally joining the Star Wars universe in The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Weaver plays Colonel Ward, a New Republic officer who tasks Din Djarin and his little green son Grogu with tracking down Imperial warlords who are resisting the end of the Empire.
While Ward makes reference to the Rebellion in the film, though, we don't learn much about her past. When we sat down with Weaver in London to talk about the new movie, we asked if she or Jon Favreau developed a backstory for the character.
"I think Jon knew very clearly that she was the same generation as Princess Leia, so she would have come up with her and the other rebels fighting against the evil Empire to establish this fledgling Republic," Weaver tells us. "And I think it's a very important job she's in as a commanding officer out in the middle of nowhere. There's no cavalry coming to save them if something goes wrong.
"And she has to, I think, make a very quick judgment. She's already hired Mando and Grogu. She hasn't met them. So, I'm looking at this man who's wearing a helmet, and I can't see his eyes, and this little green person who just wants snacks, and I'm sending them out on a really important mission to capture and bring back alive a really bad guy. And so, she ends up trusting her instincts. I think women have very good gut instincts about people and situations, and you see her have to make that call."
In the galaxy far, far away, Ward joins a line-up of strong Star Wars women like Leia, while, in our own world, Weaver joins a collection of actors like Carrie Fisher and Rogue One's Felicity Jones. "I've always loved the variety of characters and worlds in Star Wars, and I do feel part of an incredible pantheon of strong women," says Weaver. "Felicity in Rogue, and certainly Carrie as Princess Leia. But, I don't think there are as many as there are men, so I think it's really cool that I get to join this ensemble."
Ward hires Din Djarin to go after the mysterious Commander Coin, with help from the Hutt Twins in exchange for rescuing their nephew, Rotta the Hutt (returning from The Clone Wars movie, now all grown up). This makes Mando, who doesn't wish to work for gangsters, uncomfortable. So, why is Ward accepting the situation? "Because I think she hopes that the Republic is going to get more out of it, and, unfortunately, they have to go through the Hutts to get the information they need," Weaver explains. "Because the Hutts will deliver an even more valuable bad guy to them, and sometimes you have to have strange bedfellows in war."
But, while Weaver might be sending Mando and Grogu out on the main mission, that doesn't mean she's taking a backseat to the action. "I couldn't believe that I was flying an X-wing and in a squadron," she says of an action sequence featuring Ward taking to the skies. "And, in fact, it was very exciting to be in the machine itself and learn how to manipulate it. But, it's really incredible, then, to experience the movie, and those great shots where the squadron flies overhead of the audience, and know that you're the lead pilot. It transfers to the screen so beautifully, and in a classic Star Wars way. So, it's all part of this big climax at the end, and so I was thrilled. I mean, it's like the job that keeps on giving."
The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in theaters this May 22. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store.
