An Effortlessly Wondrous Welcome [00:05] Host Krystina Arielle introduces Billie Lourd and Kelly Marie Tran, noting that they are so rad she feels like she needs a pair of sunglasses just to be as effortlessly wondrous as they are. She welcomes them to the Star Wars Celebration 2022 live stage. [00:42] Lourd and Tran walk out to roaring applause. They take their seats, and Arielle notes that she is incredibly excited to have them there, pointing out that the crowd is clearly just as excited. A Galactic Family Reunion [01:29] Arielle turns to Lourd first, noting that she has grown up around Star Wars her entire life and asks what the saga means to her. [01:37] Lourd answers that Star Wars is more than just a movie to her—it is her family. “In this crazy way, it’s literally my family,” she explains. She describes being at the convention as the most magical, wonderful feeling, noting that she has been attending Star Wars Celebrations since she was a tiny little human. She jokes that she is still a tiny human at five-foot-two, but has been coming since she was even tinier. [02:13] Lourd compares the convention to a weird, magical, galactic family reunion. “Some people do barbecues and cookouts, I do Star Wars Celebration,” she quips. She shares a touching sentiment about how the movies mean even more to her now that she has her own son. She feels incredibly lucky that she gets to show him the movies and that he will be able to know his grandmother, Carrie Fisher, through them, stating that nothing could be better. Contrasting the Chaos [02:51] Arielle transitions by asking Lourd about the differences between filming Star Wars and filming the fast-paced television series American Horror Story. [03:10] Lourd explains that they are vastly different experiences. While both are iconic and she loves them deeply, the pacing is totally different. She notes that in Star Wars, a single scene might be filmed over the course of a week or more because of the incredible attention to detail. In contrast, on American Horror Story, they film “900 scenes a day” in a fast-paced rush where they only get a couple of takes to get the dialogue out. Despite the differences in production, she notes that the awesome thing about both projects is the deep passion of the fans. The Miracle of Rose Tico [04:06] Arielle turns to Tran, reminding her that she was first introduced to the fans at Star Wars Celebration Orlando, and asks how her experience with the convention has been over the years. [04:24] The crowd erupts into cheers for Tran. She answers that it has been wonderful and highly emotional. Echoing Lourd’s earlier statement, she agrees that Star Wars is a community, a family, and a lifestyle, and expresses deep gratitude to be a part of it. Arielle takes a personal moment to tell Tran how much she means to her and thanks her for all the support she has provided over the past year. [05:10] Arielle then asks Tran what it is about her character, Rose Tico, that resonates so deeply with people. [05:22] Tran says she believes it is because Rose is a normal person. What attracted Tran to the character initially was that Rose did not come from a special legacy or background. She worked in maintenance and viewed the Resistance heroes as people who were far out of her grasp, but she eventually got to become one of them. Tran explains that Rose symbolizes how people can overcome feeling restricted by their background. “I think if anyone here wants to do something that they think is impossible… it might be possible if my journey can help you believe in that,” Tran shares. The “Kellyanne” Prank [06:32] Arielle asks about some of their favorite memories with their castmates on set. [06:55] Lourd and Tran immediately start laughing and decide to share a story about co-star Dominic Monaghan. Lourd explains that for the first half of production, Monaghan somehow thought Tran’s name was “Kellyanne.” He called her Kellyanne Tran, and instead of correcting him, they just let him run with it. [07:35] Tran adds that they eventually got the entire cast and director J.J. Abrams to start calling her Kellyanne on set. It became a massive running joke that everyone was in on except for Monaghan. When he finally realized it was a prank, he was jokingly devastated and felt hurt, but they note that they love him dearly. They laugh about the fact that they still have Tran saved as “Kellyanne” in their phones. A Galaxy of Love [08:21] As the panel comes to a close, Arielle asks the entire audience to take a second and give Lourd and Tran the loudest round of applause and love they possibly can. [08:52] The crowd obliges with a massive, sustained cheer. Arielle tells the actors that she wants them to leave knowing they are surrounded by a galaxy of love and appreciation. She thanks them for stopping by and making her cooler by association before wrapping up the segment.