Emilia Clarke Reveals Her Star Wars Future
Emilia Clarke says she has no plans to return to the Star Wars universe as Qi'Ra.
After her role as Qi’ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story, fans and interviewers alike have been asking Emilia Clarke if she has any plans to return to the Star Wars franchise. Her answer is a polite but emphatic no. According to IndieWire, the actress said, “I mean… no [laughs]…That would be lovely, that would be very nice. I’m genuinely having a wicked time on Marvel, though, they’re absolutely brilliant.”
While Emilia Clarke enjoyed being a part of the Star Wars universe, her plan for the future is “to work with as many auteurs and filmmakers in the independent film space and be as creatively fulfilled as [she] possibly can be.” So, in other words, no more big, buzzy projects like Game of Thrones, the series that made her famous.
Emilia Clarke wants to focus, not on films like Star Wars that are produced by big, well-known filmmakers, but on giving a voice to new writers and those who may not be as experienced in the industry. She wants to be involved with projects that deal with “incredibly big philosophical ideas” and “magical realism.” These things, she says, are the kinds of things that make her feel fulfilled in her work, and at this point in her career, she has the stability to take a chance on these kinds of projects.
Emilia Clarke is currently in the news for her new film The Pod Generation, which premiered at 2023’s Sundance Film Festival. The film, a “slightly dystopian” story of a couple who live in a world where technology powers everything, even childbirth, has already won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, according to the official Sundance website.
The film, unlike the Star Wars films, where technology is mostly seen as a benefit (and also awesome), shows the dangers of allowing society to become addicted to technological advancements. Emilia Clarke admits that some technology, especially in the medical field, can be helpful, but other things are just being invented and advanced merely for the sake of advancement, not because there is a real need.
In The Pod Generation, Emilia Clarke plays Rachel, an executive at a tech company who gets a spot at the “Womb Center,” where couples can have babies via an artificial womb – a “pod,” as per the title – located outside of the body. Her husband (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), though, is a nature-lover who would prefer if they had a baby the natural way.
This coupling sounds a lot different than Emilia Clarke’s relationship in Solo: A Star Wars Story, in which she plays Han Solo’s childhood BFF/first love. The two live on the streets for a time before she gets caught by their enemies. She becomes Darth Maul’s lieutenant in the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate in order to escape the planet. She takes over the organization upon his death and becomes its leader for the Galactic Civil War.
Emilia Clarke’s ability to play such vastly different characters in such different films and shows is one of the reasons why she is so often asked to be a part of big franchises like Star Wars. She brings a lot of star power to every role she plays, and now she is going to use that gift to start bringing recognition to more indie films as well.
