Rose Tico

Rose Tico's birth occurred around 11 ABY on Hays Minor, a struggling mining colony situated within the Otomok system. She, alongside her older sister Paige and their parents, Hue and Thanya, spent their formative years on Hays Minor. During their childhood, Rose and her sister enjoyed engaging in training simulations using their grandmother Etta's Z-95 Headhunter, watching holodramas, and observing Fathier races. In one particular Z-95 simulation, Rose and Paige were amazed by the simulated craft's velocity, leading Paige to finally allow Rose to pilot it independently. However, despite Paige's pleas to ascend, Rose crashed. Soon after, their parents arrived to escort the girls to dinner. Their mother would tell them that regardless of what Hays Minor lacked and the experiences the girls longed for on more vibrant worlds, they would always have the sky.

The First Order seized control of Hays Minor's mines, compelling Rose's people to extract the planet's ore resources to fuel their war efforts. Rose and Paige worked to protect their parents and fellow citizens from the First Order and the pollution caused by their mining operations. Rose successfully destroyed twelve OreDiggers, effectively halting the First Order's mining activities for a period of three days. Her parents advised her and Paige to seek out the Resistance and join their fight against the First Order. Admirals Gial Ackbar and Amilyn Holdo welcomed Rose and Paige into the Resistance. The two sisters subsequently became members of the Resistance's Cobalt Squadron. Rose later received the devastating news that the First Order had shelled her people to test the results. Having lost everything to the First Order, Rose and her sister dedicated themselves to the Resistance with the goal of avenging their homeworld. General Leia Organa approached them, offering her condolences for the First Order's genocide on Hays Minor. Organa assured Rose and her sister that she would permit them to pursue the First Order independently. However, the two sisters chose to remain, recognizing that they could have a greater impact on the First Order by staying with the Resistance. Rose and Paige made a solemn promise to prevent the First Order from plundering and devastating other worlds.

At the Resistance base on D'Qar, Rose and Paige were present during a meeting where General Organa discussed exploring D'Qar for its natural resources due to limited fuel supplies. Hesitant to share her idea, Rose whispered to her sister, who then raised Rose's hand, announcing that Rose had a potential solution. Rose possessed old sketches of wheeled vehicles that could be constructed from their scrap heap. Lazslo, the confident head mechanic, expressed skepticism about Rose's idea, suggesting they focus on modifying speeders instead. Nevertheless, Organa approved Rose's proposal.

Venturing out to the scrap heap, Rose began working on constructing a three-wheeled truck. Upon starting it, the vehicle emitted a loud popping sound when Rose pressed a red button. Lazslo and Paige, who were nearby, witnessed this, and the mechanic quickly criticized Rose's idea, advising her to return to her regular duties. Rose felt discouraged, but Paige encouraged her to try again. Just as she was about to press the button, General Organa appeared, offering further encouragement. Inspired, Rose attempted again, and this time the truck functioned properly. Now, she simply needed to build another one from the scrap heap.

After completing the two trucks, Rose felt proud of her "first fleet," and she and Paige took them for a test drive. During their race, the sisters reached a remote cave containing a freshwater river. Continuing their journey, Paige, caught up in the excitement, lost control and drove off a large log. Rose discovered that her communications were down while attempting to contact help. Consequently, she packed a backpack and set out to find Paige herself. As she climbed, Rose began to feel guilty about her creations, attributing their scrap origins to Paige's crash and their current predicament. Refusing to give up, Rose encountered a bush and a strange noise, which frightened her. Suddenly, several squonks emerged from the bush, and Rose named them after the sounds they made. Enlisting the help of these large wild birds, Rose embarked on a mission to locate Paige.

Together, she and the birds discovered Paige's red scarf. The birds sniffed the scarf and quickly took off, eventually arriving at a large cluster of trees, Paige's abandoned truck, and a ravine. Looking into the pit, Rose called out her sister's name and heard her respond! Paige was trapped on a fragile cluster of vines and needed Rose's assistance to escape. Utilizing her surroundings, Rose created a pulley system using wheels and began to pull Paige out of the ravine. Nervous and frightened by a snapping vine, Rose looked up and narrowly managed to save Paige. Upon reaching the top, Rose and Paige realized that the cliffside was composed of Durasteel ore, which was the reason for the jammed communications. They took a large chunk back to the base and bid farewell to the squonks. Back at the base, Lazslo was quick to criticize the loss of a truck, but was silenced by the valuable Durasteel ore. Meanwhile, General Organa expressed her admiration for Rose's successful, albeit unconventional, plan.

Eventually, Paige became a gunner aboard the Resistance bomber Cobalt Hammer, as a member of Cobalt Squadron. While Rose served as a mechanic, the two siblings maintained a close bond, each wearing matching pendants around their necks at all times.

At some point, Organa assigned both Rose and Paige to a discreet fact-finding mission in the Atterra system. Organa sought to gain a better understanding of the First Order's activities in local settlements within Atterra. There were rumors circulating that the system's trade routes were being blockaded, preventing traders from entering and exiting.

Rose and Paige then journeyed to the system aboard the Cobalt Hammer, accompanied by bombardier Nix Jerd and pilot Finch Dallow. Their mission involved releasing an equal number of spy probes over Atterra Alpha and Atterra Bravo. The plan required them to wait in space for several hours, ideally without attracting attention from the First Order, until they could retrieve the spy probes and return to D'Qar with the information they contained.

Following her transfer to the Resistance cruiser Raddus, Rose dedicated a significant amount of time to studying its operational mechanics. Another mechanic named Lazslo ridiculed her, suggesting that she never engaged in any real work and simply sat around reading. Rose's sister, Paige, then suggested she sleep, but Rose continued her studies, emphasizing the need to understand commands written in Calamarian and pointing out that Paige was the one who needed rest. After Paige departed, Poe Dameron himself arrived to express his gratitude for mechanics like Rose who ensured the Resistance's ships remained operational.

During Poe Dameron's subsequent patrol, First Order ships appeared, and Poe Dameron found himself trapped outside the Raddus due to the hangar door's inability to open. General Organa convened an emergency meeting with all of the Resistance's mechanics in an attempt to resolve the issue. While the other mechanics worked on the problem, Rose returned to the manuals in search of a solution. As Rose struggled to find the answer, Dameron began joking with her over the comms. Eventually, Rose discovered a Calamarian failsafe automatic reboot code and successfully opened the door. This allowed a group of X-wings to exit the cruiser, support Dameron, and destroy the TIE fighters, saving the day. Everyone expressed their gratitude to Rose, and her dedication to studying ultimately paid off.

After the Resistance's triumph over the First Order by destroying their superweapon Starkiller Base, the Raddus played a role in the evacuation of the Resistance base on the planet D'Qar. During the subsequent Battle of D'Qar, Rose Tico was stationed aboard the Raddus. Poe Dameron led a successful assault using starfighters and bombers on the First Order Dreadnought Fulminatrix. However, the Resistance suffered significant losses to its Starfighter Corps, including the bomber squadrons Crimson and Cobalt. Paige Tico made the ultimate sacrifice, dropping the bombs that destroyed the Fulminatrix. Rose was deeply saddened by the loss of her sister, a sentiment shared by Fossil, "the Old Lady" who commanded the late bomber squadrons and served as surplus crew on the Raddus.

As the Resistance continued to flee from the First Order's pursuit in the Oetchi system, Rose Tico was assigned to the Raddus' escape pod bay to prevent any desertions. There, Tico encountered Finn, whom she quickly recognized as the Resistance hero who had fought in the Battle of Starkiller Base. Despite her admiration, she realized that Finn was attempting to escape, noticing his packed bag in an escape pod. Angered, she stunned him with an electro-shock prod before placing the incapacitated man on a cart and beginning to drag him to the brig.

When Finn regained consciousness, he attempted to convince Tico that he was not deserting but was merely trying to warn his friend Rey about the severity of the Resistance's situation. He pointed out that the First Order could track the Raddus through hyperspace, pursuing them until they ran out of fuel and were destroyed. Tico realized that the Order must be using a tracking device aboard their main ship, the Supremacy. Drawing upon Tico's mechanical knowledge and Finn's familiarity with First Order ships, the two devised a plan to disable the tracking device, allowing the Raddus to escape into hyperspace. They then informed Dameron of their plan to infiltrate the Supremacy, although they lacked the ability to decrypt the ship's computer codes to gain access. Dameron contacted the pirate Maz Kanata for assistance, but she was occupied with an armed conflict. Instead, she referred them to a "Master Codebreaker" who could be found on Cantonica.

Without obtaining permission from acting commander Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, Finn, Rose, and BB-8 commandeered a ship and traveled to the casino city of Canto Bight. While Finn was captivated by the city's superficial beauty, Rose recognized the darkness that lay beneath the surface. She explained that many of the wealthy individuals and gamblers had amassed their fortunes by selling weapons and goods to the First Order or by profiting from war and the suffering of others. She also drew his attention to the blatant abuse of the fathiers and their child caretakers, expressing her desire to dismantle their shallow and self-centered society.

Rose and Finn continued their search for the "master codebreaker" and believed they had identified him by the pin he wore on his lapel. However, they were arrested by the Canto Bight Police for parking their ship on a private beach. While incarcerated, they encountered a mysterious figure who claimed to be able to grant them undetected access to the Supremacy. Rose and Finn politely declined. The man shrugged it off and proceeded to unlock their cell door using a lockpick.

Now free, Finn and Rose escaped through the city's sewer system, emerging in the fathier stables. There, Rose secured the allegiance of the young slave Temiri Blagg by showing him her Resistance ring, which she then gave to him before they released the animals. The herd stampeded through the city, causing widespread destruction.

Riding one of the fathiers out of the city, Finn and Rose attempted to reach their ship, but the police destroyed it before they could arrive. The mysterious slicer suddenly reappeared with BB-8 aboard a stolen vessel, rescuing Finn and Rose once again.

The slicer, known as DJ, agreed to assist the duo in infiltrating the First Order after Rose offered him her gold pendant as a down payment. As promised, his hacking skills proved to be impressive, and they bypassed the Supremacy's radar undetected. They acquired First Order uniforms from the supply rooms and stealthily made their way through the ship until they reached the tracking mechanism.

DJ utilized Rose's pendant as a conductor to hotwire a door panel, returning it to her afterward. The door opened, but the trio was quickly surrounded by First Order forces. Once captured, the slicer struck a deal with the First Order to secure his freedom, enabling the Supremacy to detect the fleeing Resistance shuttles and commence firing upon them.

Rose and Finn were brought before Captain Phasma and General Armitage Hux. Hux recognized Rose's medallion as originating from the Otomok system and seized the opportunity to taunt her, disparaging her home system as vermin. Unwilling to be intimidated, Rose bit his hand hard enough to draw blood, humiliating the general in front of his troops and prompting him to order their execution. DJ then bargained for his life, exchanging Resistance secrets he had obtained from Finn and Rose in exchange for payment and freedom. Rose and Finn were both enraged by this betrayal. Deeming death by firing squad "too good for them," Phasma summoned a pair of executioner troopers instead. However, before they could be executed, Holdo jumped the Raddus to hyperspace, passing directly through the First Order fleet and bisecting the Supremacy. The blast briefly rendered Finn unconscious, prompting Rose to begin dragging him toward a nearby shuttle before he regained consciousness. However, their path was blocked by Phasma and a squad of stormtroopers, who immediately opened fire on them. Suddenly, a rogue AT-ST began firing on Phasma and her stormtroopers. The pilot of the rogue walker was revealed to be BB-8 when the armor of the walker was removed. Rose took cover as Finn engaged Phasma with a Z6 riot control baton, ultimately defeating his former superior, who fell into a fiery pit.

Amidst the chaos of the Supremacy's destruction, Rose and Finn escaped with BB-8 aboard a stolen First Order shuttle. They piloted the shuttle to Crait, where the remaining Resistance forces had retreated to an abandoned Rebel Alliance base. As their shuttle was being pursued by two TIE fighters, the Resistance assumed all three craft to be hostile and began closing the base doors. Rose and Finn managed to pilot their shuttle into the hanger just before the doors shut, resulting in critical damage to the shuttle. They were then met with a barrage of blaster fire from the Resistance members. To prove they were not First Order, the duo raised their hands, prompting their comrades to cease fire.

Rose piloted a ski speeder during the Battle of Crait. The speeders were relics left in the base from the days of the Rebel Alliance and were in a state of serious disrepair. With no other option, Rose and several other pilots, including Finn and Dameron, flew the speeders toward the First Order's battering ram cannon to prevent them from breaching the base and destroying the last of the Resistance.

The majority of the speeders were destroyed by AT-M6 fire. When Dameron ordered the squadron to retreat and return to the base, Finn refused and instead decided to fly his speeder into the cannon in an attempt to destroy it. Rose crashed her speeder into his to stop him and save his life, injuring herself in the process. Before falling unconscious, Rose told her friend that they had to fight for what they loved instead of just fighting what they hated, and she kissed the dumbfounded Finn.

Finn dragged her back to the base to receive medical attention. She was transported aboard the Millennium Falcon with the few remaining survivors of the Resistance, with Finn watching over his unconscious friend.

After speaking with Poe and Rey following the Battle of Crait, Finn took the opportunity to check on Rose. Shortly after telling Rey some of his recent experiences, Dameron met Finn and asked him how Rose was. Finn stated that she was asleep, something he thought was good, though he wasn't sure at all, as he wasn't a doctor. He commented on the first aid training received by the First Order stormtroopers and the realization that the stormtroopers who failed were left to die from their injuries. Dameron told his friend that he was sure that Tico would be alright, even though he couldn't be sure, but that he could choose to believe the former. Finn then proceeded to clothe Rose. At some point after she awoke, she and Finn talked and decided to remain just friends.

In the aftermath of Crait, with the help of the Ryloth Defense Authority, Tico and the Resistance established a base in a cave on Ryloth. However, someone in the planet's capital of Lessu betrayed them, forcing the Resistance to escape the First Order once again.

Rose found herself at the Resistance Camp located on Anoat following the aftermath of the Battle of Crait. She lent her expertise to General Organa, aiding in some crucial repairs to the iconic Millennium Falcon before its departure for Mon Cala.

She accompanied the general to Mon Cala, where she issued a stern warning to Chadkol Gee after he aimed a blaster in the general's direction. A conflict erupted between a group of Quarren and the Resistance operatives, which resulted in them facing judgment before King Ech-Char.

After Rey bravely volunteered to participate in the Ancient Rite of Challenge, Tico intervened by firing upon Arkay-Nine. As a consequence, in accordance with their laws, they faced banishment. However, a Quarren sabotaged their shuttle, leading Tico to commandeer a speeder and, with Rey's assistance, pursue him relentlessly.

Subsequently, Organa successfully persuaded the Mon Calamari to offer their support, coinciding with the arrival of a First Order Star Destroyer fleet. The Resistance managed to escape, thanks to the ultimate sacrifice of General Nossor Ri.

Following the events on Mon Cala, the revamped crew of the Millennium Falcon received orders to proceed to Fermic in order to acquire essential supplies. By this point, Tico had affectionately named all of the Porgs. As they were completing the loading process, they intercepted a distress signal originating from Minfar, prompting them to immediately set course to provide assistance. Upon their arrival, they were ambushed by forces belonging to a First Order light cruiser, compelling them to execute a rough landing on the planet's surface. Tico dedicated herself to working on the engines.

After the landing, the crew ventured into the jungle, soon finding themselves within a network of tunnels inhabited by the Zixon. They encountered Lim, who guided them to her village. In need of components, the locals led them to the Forbidden Lands, which housed abandoned Imperial laboratories. The Zixon were subsequently enthralled by the Echo Horn, which had been seized by First Order Commander Branwayne Spiftz. Tico donned a suit of old power armor to confront them, but they managed to escape, leaving the Resistance to devise a fresh strategy to liberate the Zixon, aided by the spy Glenna Kip. They returned to the Falcon to strafe the camp, while Dameron infiltrated their cruiser, the Ladara Vex, to destroy it and the Echo Horn. A call to the Resistance then facilitated the arrival of reinforcements.

Sometime after her heroic actions on Crait, Tico received a promotion from Organa, becoming the leader of the Engineering Corps. Over the ensuing months, Organa directed Tico's skills towards developing innovative technologies and methods to counteract hyperspace tracking and address other emerging advancements in First Order technology. She collaborated with the Resistance droid pool to generate biohexacrypt codes, aiming to circumvent First Order jamming or interception. The now-Commander Tico was present when a message from a First Order spy underwent decryption, confirming that the Dark Lord of the Sith and Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious had miraculously survived his demise aboard the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station. Tico remained uncertain about the veracity of the information, but C-3PO revealed another fragment of the message: Supreme Leader Kylo Ren had forged an alliance with the Sith Lord and intended to deploy the Sith Eternal's fleet, known as the Final Order, a force unlike anything the galaxy had ever witnessed. Beaumont Kin responded by pointing out the Resistance's lack of large-scale weaponry and the limited functionality of their starships, but Tico asserted that they would swiftly rectify the situation.

Subsequently, Organa entrusted Tico with the task of analyzing the specifications of Imperial Star Destroyers to identify any potential similarities with the Sith fleet. Finn extended an invitation for her to join the group, but she declined due to her assigned duties. She later participated in the Battle of Exegol, serving in the assault led by Finn and former stormtrooper Jannah. When Finn and Jannah remained behind to disable the transmitter of the Steadfast, Tico initially hesitated to leave Finn, but ultimately departed after persuasion from Beaumont Kin and Kaydel Ko Connix.

The character of Rose Tico was brought to life by Kelly Marie Tran in the 2017 sequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi. The announcement of Tran's casting in the film occurred on February 15, 2016. The first image of Rose was unveiled during The Last Jedi panel at Celebration Orlando on April 14, 2017. Rose's surname, Tico, was revealed by Vanity Fair on May 23, 2017. Rose shares her first name with Maz Kanata's placeholder name during the pre-production phase of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, serving as a tribute to director J.J. Abrams' and production designer Rick Carter's deceased teacher, Rose Gilbert. Rose Tico made her debut in Star Wars: Force Arena with the release of the 2.3 Update on December 12, 2017.

Rian Johnson, the director of The Last Jedi, conceived the character of Rose because he realized that sending Poe along with Finn to Canto Bight would have lacked excitement. He stated, "It was just these two dudes on an adventure. I knew something was wrong when I looked at their dialogue and realized I could interchange any of the lines. There wasn't conflict between them. So I realized I had to come up with something else. Finn needing somebody else to go with who would actually challenge him and push him and contrast with him was where Rose came from." During the casting process, Rose was initially referred to as "Del."

Johnson didn't have a specific ethnicity in mind for Rose. "We saw a lot of talented actresses of a very broad range — but honestly, it was more about finding Kelly," he recalled. "There was something about Kelly that had that kind of genuine oddball nature and a real sweetness to her. She has the most open heart of anyone I've ever met and I knew that was going to shine through onscreen." Kelly Marie Tran's chemistry with John Boyega, who played Finn, solidified the director's conviction that she was the perfect choice for the role. Tran had never watched a Star Wars movie before landing the part; she was more inclined towards series like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. She believes that this lack of prior exposure contributed to her success in securing the role, explaining, "I didn't have this expectation of what I thought this person should be like; I wasn't trying to model her after someone I'd seen in a movie." Carrie Fisher served as the inspiration for Rose and Paige's crescent necklaces. Johnson responded to a fan's inquiry about the idea by tweeting, "In rehearsals Carrie grabbed my arm and told me with great urgency that we needed 'space jewelry.' I thought that was a fabulous idea. So."

Despite the critical and commercial success of The Last Jedi, Tran became the target of online racist attacks, which garnered significant news coverage, including instances of vandalism targeting Rose Tico's article on the freely editable, unofficial online encyclopedia known as Wookieepedia. In response to criticism comparing Tico to Jar Jar Binks, the official Star Wars Facebook page defended the character's importance to the story. Attorney Anthony Nguyen described Tran as the first "woman of color" to be cast in a leading role within the Star Wars franchise. Indeed, Star Wars Insider highlighted Rose and her sister Paige as positive representations of the Asian community within the Star Wars universe. Journalist Nicole Karlis suggested that the attacks directed at Tran reflected a fear of women who challenged sexist stereotypes. Leading up to the release of The Rise of Skywalker, another controversy arose, alleging that Lucasfilm had removed the character from the film's advertising and merchandise.

Tran reprised her role in Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, but her screen time was significantly reduced, primarily confining her to the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss. Co-writer Chris Terrio explained, "One of the reasons that Rose has a few less scenes than we would like her to have has to do with the difficulty of using [the late] Carrie [Fisher]'s footage in the way we wanted to. We wanted Rose to be the anchor at the rebel base who was with Leia. We thought we couldn't leave Leia at the base without any of the principals who we love, so Leia and Rose were working together. As the process evolved, a few scenes we'd written with Rose and Leia turned out to not meet the standard of photorealism that we'd hoped for. Those scenes unfortunately fell out of the film. The last thing we were doing was deliberately trying to sideline Rose. We adore the character, and we adore Kelly – so much so that we anchored her with our favorite person in this galaxy, General Leia." Terrio later clarified, "I was referring to a specific scene in which Leia's emotional state in Episode VII did not seem to match the scene we wrote for use in Episode IX, and so it was cut at the script stage before the VFX work was done. If we had chosen to use the scene, ILM would have made it look perfect. They always do."

According to Leland Chee of the Lucasfilm Story Group, he and his colleagues involved with LEGO Star Wars content consistently enjoy portraying the interactions between Rey and Tico in that particular medium.