Domhnall Gleeson Would’ve Liked A Different Fate For General Hux In ‘The Rise Of Skywalker’

Like its predecessor, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, opinions have been running hot ever since The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters in December as rabid fans have continued to argue over the film’s various strengths and weaknesses. Each time a cast member or filmmaker chimes in with their thoughts, the fan fighting only kicks up a notch, and that’s sure to be the case with Domhnall Gleeson weighing in on the fate of his character General Hux.

(Spoilers for The Rise of Skywalker ahead.)

Not far into the film, Hux is revealed to be a spy for the Resistance. Although, his motivation isn’t to aid the galactic freedom fighters, but to essentially stick it to Kylo Ren. Unfortunately for Hux, his betrayal is quickly snuffed out, and he’s gunned down by General Pryde (Richard E. Grant) who becomes Ren’s new right-hand Imperial officer. Star Wars fans enjoyed the exciting reveal and wish they could’ve seen more of the traitorous Hux scheming behind Kylo’s back, and apparently Gleeson feels the same, according to a new interview with IndieWire:

“It would’ve been nice to stick around a little bit longer, for sure,” Gleeson said in a recent phone interview. “It would’ve been nice to see the spy thing play out a little bit, but J.J. [Abrams] knows what he’s doing, and I heard a kind of gasp in the cinema when it happened, so I guess he was right.”

While Gleeson would’ve liked to have more screen time, it did soften the blow that he was replaced by Grant whose work he’s admired for a very long time. “There are a lot of worse people to bow out to,” Gleeson said. The actor is also aware of the limitations of trying to fit several epic storylines into one movie. “There’s always stuff that you would like to see more of, but you can’t have a 17-hour film, I’ve been told. Apparently that’s not allowed, so I was happy with what was there.”