‘Star Wars: Episode 8’ Rumor: Holdo, Leia, And The Darth Vader Connection
New details about the new character Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) in Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi have emerged, revealing her history with General Leia (Carrie Fisher) and her possible ties to the Bloodline novel.
According to the hardworking Star Wars watcher and YouTuber Mike Zeroh, Holdo spent some time in the Apprentice Legislature where she first met Leia. She knew her then only as the daughter of Bail Organa.
They got to know more about each other during the senatorial sessions and got acquainted over the course of their time in the organization, but at some point—six years prior to the events of Star Wars: Episode 7 –The Force Awakens—Holdo is horrified learning of the senator’s true parentage.
After she realized that she is the daughter of the Sith Lord Darth Vader responsible for the deaths of many in the galaxy, the two went their separate ways, and Leia focused on establishing the Resistance.
In Star Wars: Episode 8, when Holdo joins the fight against the First Order, she will use this knowledge to gain leverage over her and ultimately take away the leadership from her.
This will divide the Resistance into two camps; those who choose to stay with Leia and those convinced by Holdo that having the daughter of Darth Vader at the helm is not a good idea.
This is very much like what Leia suffered in the Bloodline novel by Claudia Gray, which Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson actually helped develop.
The book is set several years prior to the events of Star Wars: Episode 7 and sets up the birth of the Resistance. In the story, Leia serves as one of the senators of the New Republic and becomes friends with a fellow senator, Ransolm Casterfo, who she saw as trustworthy. During all this, she hides the fact that she is Darth Vader’s daughter.
One thing about Ransolm, however, is that he was tormented by that same man when he was a child, which paved the way for the corrupt senator, Lady Carise Sindian, to turn him against her. He made the mistake of severing ties with Leia and was framed by Carise and sentenced to death at the end of the Star Wars novel.
The similarities have fans wondering that the character of Holdo may have been inspired by the novel. She could be a version of Ransolm Casterfo or even Lady Carise Sindian, in which case she could be a bigger threat in Star Wars: Episode 8 than expected. She could also just be one of the senators that worked with them.
Interestingly, there had been speculation that Ransolm Casterfo could be the basis for the mysterious character, DJ, played by Benicio del Toro. If this is true, it would suggest that DJ, Leia, and Holdo go way back.
If this is the case, it would also make sense for Holdo or Leia to send Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) on a mission to get to DJ in The Last Jedi, as this could mean they knew him.
Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi hits the cinemas December 15.
[Featured Image by Disney and Lucasfilm]
