It's hard to find a major franchise Dominic Monaghan hasn't been part of. After making a name for himself as Merry in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the actor went on to star in Lost, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, ticking off some real bucket list projects for any performer.
Talking to us about his roles in Moonhaven and Moriarty: The Devil's Game (we'll be sharing the full interview later this week), Monaghan reflected on his trip to a Galaxy Far, Far Away and explained what it meant to him to be part of the Star Wars Universe as the heroic Beaumont Kin.
"The Star Wars franchise is extraordinary and really moulding in terms of the modern-day industry of making films, certainly in the West. It was hugely influential to be involved with something like that," the actor enthuses in the video below. "The reason that I became an actor was Star Wars, so it was great to come full circle. I had a blast."
"I’m really good friends with J.J. [Abrams] and I’d been giving him a hard time for a while about putting me in Star Wars and we eventually figured something out. It was great to be on set with those iconic characters and it was a really fun experience for me," Monaghan continues. "I’m always supportive of J.J.’s work because he’s someone I’ve seen working up close on set, and he’s about as talented as anyone else. I think Star Wars has been found by new generations of people since the first ones came out and has spawned a whole bunch of new fans."
"We’ve been going to these conventions over the past few months or so and the appetite for Star Wars seems about as strong as it’s ever been. It’s a fun Galaxy to hang out in and, who knows, perhaps at some point they’ll tell more stories about the character I played and I can do it again."
On that note, we wondered if he would want to reprise the role. After all, Star Wars has expanded massively since 2019 thanks to Disney+, and there have been rumblings for a while now that we'll eventually head to that post-The Rise of Skywalker timeline.
As for the actor's Resistance fighter, he survived the Battle of Exegol and has since shown up in various comic books and novels. With that in mind, it feels like there has to be more that can be done with Beaumont, right?
"I’ve been told by a lot of people online that he’s been featured in these new Star Wars comics and graphic novels and novels about the Star Wars canon. So, Beaumont is still alive and well and doing his thing," Monaghan ponders. "It would be great to show up and do something."
"Quite rightly, the Star Wars Universe is telling more stories about women and people from different cultures and backgrounds. Maybe they’re done with telling stories of mid-40-year-old white guys, but I’m always available if they’re interested."
In previous interviews, Monaghan has talked about many of his scenes being cut, no great surprise when there was so much story to squeeze into this divisive final chapter of the Skywalker Saga. It's no wonder then that he's keen to return in a future movie or TV show, and we'd love to see both Beaumont and the Resistance better explored in one of those.
Would you like to see more of the actor in this Galaxy Far, Far Away?