Academy Award-nominated acting vet Laura Dern is new to the Star Wars saga, but the Jurassic Park and Twin Peaks actress is no stranger to its importance.

“It’s steeped in deep mythology, it’s the most human tale in a way of all these journeys,” Dern told ComicBook.com. “It is about family and it is about holding hope, even amidst depression. It’s incredibly relatable as a film of our time right now. So I think all those things, the themes keep it perhaps the most palpable.”

Dern recounted a personal story of a family expressing to her the franchise’s continued insistence on strong female heroines following in the footsteps of princess-turned-general Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).

“The other day a family came up to me, and it was three generations — this grandmother saying how excited she was for her granddaughter to have strong female characters that she got from the original with Leia,” Dern recalled. “I thought that was so beautiful, seeing how it impacted.”

Dern’s character, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, is among the newest characters to join the latest iteration of the franchise relaunched with 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She wouldn’t dish too many details about the mysterious Holdo, but we do know she’s boss to Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).

A new look at Dern’s purple-haired Holdo was revealed in Elle, accompanied by another statement by Dern about the importance of female characters in the Star Wars universe.

“As a team and as a tribe, the people who are making these films care so deeply about their female characters,” Dern said of The Last Jedi. “It’s so amazing for kids and for girls.”

Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi2017

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