Star Wars Episode IX: Is Richard E. Grant Playing a Familiar Character?

News had come out last year that actor Richard E. Grant was cast in Star Wars Episode IX, but we still have no idea who he's playing. What's interesting is, in a recent interview, Grant possibly reveals that his character is someone we've met before.

Talking to The Telegraph (via XSection from Reddit), Grant explained how he was brought to Pinewood Studios to meet J.J. Abrams two months after he sent an audition video of himself. Here's the excerpt:

"I got 10 pages of script from a Forties British war film, three scenes in total, and had to video myself doing them on an iPad. Then you send it off, and feel like you're never going to hear anything about it ever again. I got a call two months later to say a car was going to pick me up and take me to Pinewood Studios to meet director, JJ Abrams. Which was odd, because I still had no idea what he was going to direct me as."

When Grant arrived he was ushered into a room with Abrams and the new trilogy's heroine, Daisy Ridley: "Surrounded by all this Star Wars memorabilia going back to 1977. And within about two seconds, he said, ‘Are you gonna do it or not?' And I said, ‘Do what?' Then he described the part, and I think he told me what my name was, at which point the room went upside down. In what appears to be a degree of physical discomfort, Grant stops himself from saying anything more. In the grand old Star Wars tradition, the entire cast has been sworn to secrecy, at least until the trailer and title of the forthcoming Episode IX are revealed in April.

At this point in the timeline, there are so many characters that could appear in the story and be Grant's age, but it's curious what the character's name is that Grant ended up so excited. Is he playing a legacy character? Is he Anakin's old friend from Episode I, Kitster?

With the universe having characters with sinister and cool names like General Grievous or Captain Phasma, I have a feeling that Grant is playing someone entirely new; it's just that his character's name sounds really cool.

Yep. He's definitely playing Kitster.

Catch Star Wars Episode IX in theaters Dec. 20.

See Also: Star Wars: Episode IX Leak Teases Scene Between Luke Skywalker And Young Ben Solo