Felicity Jones Has Some ‘Star Wars’ Contract Surprises, Will Host ‘Saturday Night Live’ In 2017

WARNING: This post contains major spoilers for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Felicity Jones is riding the Star Wars money train all the way to the bank. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jones, the star of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, pulled seven figures for her role as Jyn Erso in the companion piece to the classic film saga. This makes Jones the highest-paid actor on the set of that film, beating out her male co-stars, whom the Hollywood Reporter says made “mid-six figures” for their roles.

Jones isn’t the only actress breaking Hollywood’s glass ceiling when it comes to money. Earlier this week, Emmy Rossum fought for and won a greater salary than her Shameless co-star William H. Macy. Showtime offered Rossum equal pay with Macy, but Rossum held out for more money to make up for the seven seasons of Shameless when she was paid less than him.

Jones and Rossum’s successes follow from House of Cards star Robin Wright’s own successful efforts at receiving pay equal to her own male co-star, Kevin Spacey, from Netflix. The past couple of years have featured a fresh set of vocal calls for equal pay in Hollywood, from Patricia Arquette’s 2015 Oscar acceptance speech to Jennifer Lawrence’s essay on Lenny to recent comments by Jessica Chastain as she promotes her new film Miss Sloane.

Felicity Jones’s contract has more than just money surprises in it, however. The Hollywood Reporter also notes that Jones has a sequel clause in her contract. This clause runs against two facts currently in evidence. First, Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm and brand manager of Star Wars, said earlier this year that Rogue One was a “one-and-done” deal. The second piece of evidence came when public audiences finally got a chance to see the film: Jones’s character Jyn Erso dies at the end of the film, along with the other main cast members.

So how will Lucasfilm exercise Felicity Jones’s sequel clause? The company is working on more companion films like Rogue One, such as the young Han Solo film which picked up Donald Glover for Lando Calrissian earlier this year. The Solo film is a good fit for Jones, as Jyn is definitely cut from the same cloth as Harrison Ford’s rugged smuggler.

Given Jyn’s fate in Rogue One, a living appearance for Felicity in Episode VIII is unlikely, but perhaps there is a place for her as an apparition. Jones wouldn’t be the first actress to play an ethereal person in the series; Sir Alec Guinness played the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy.

In addition to films, Felicity could also reprise her role as Jyn Erso in the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels. A certain Rogue One character who mentored Jones’s character will reportedly appear on the show soon, though he will not voice by his live-action counterpart.

Felicity Jones also made an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on December 16 to promote Rogue One. The episode hasn’t aired in America yet, but the show’s Youtube page already has a couple of highlights featuring Jones, including a story about a fan who had Jones’s likeness as Jyn Erso tattooed on his left calf. “I’m just worried about what happens when the hair grows back,” Jones quips.

Jones is likely to stay busy as 2017 arrives. Entertainment Weekly reports that Felicity will be the host of the first Saturday Night Live of 2017. The show will air on January 14 and feature country music artist Sturgill Simpson, if Jones doesn’t sneak in and steal the plans first.

[Featured Image by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Images]