Make Kelly Marie Tran a lightsaber

Let's begin to make things right.

In 2017, actress Kelly Marie Tran was introduced to the world of Star Wars in the critically acclaimed The Last Jedi. Tran played the part of Rose Tico, a plucky starship mechanic who finds herself becoming a greater part of the resistance than she ever imagined. Tran played the role with earnestness and heart, and gave the story its moral and emotional center.


Despite the film's success, the movie was polarizing to fans. For reasons we can only imagine, Tran received the brunt of the backlash-- much of it racially tinged-- and was viciously harassed and bullied, until she decided to completely shutdown her presence on the web. Today there remain no personal photos, contact info, blogs, nor writings of Tran on the internet, save for the defiant article she wrote in the New York Times.

In late 2019, the much anticipated sequel to The Last Jedi and conclusion to the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker, premiered. Tran reprised her role as Rose Tico, but appeared for only about 80 seconds of total screen time. There could be many legitimate reasons why this major character would be so deeply ignored or cut. And we may never know the true reasons. But what we do know is that Kelly Marie Tran did not deserve the treatment she received for merely doing her job. And we know that she deserved a larger role in The Rise of Skywalker. If not for herself, then at least to rebuke the toxic moviegoers who wanted to silence her.


The goal of this GoFundMe is to produce a one-of-a-kind Rose Tico themed lightsaber and present it to Kelly Marie Tran, as a thank you for her work, and a recognition of her unique contribution to the world of Star Wars. With the funds raised, we will find the best saber smith/builder we can afford. The more funds we have, the better the product we can get made.

We would like to have the project completed by May 4. However, this project could require months of development and fabrication, therefore, we need to gather funds as soon as possible so that the work can begin.

These are rough estimates but you can expect something like this:
$350 simple custom hilt with illumination and special ornate blade
$500 w/sound effects and color changing
$1000 custom machined/designed hilt
$1300 w/custom etching
$1600 w/custom weathering and metal dying effects
$2000 w/crystal chamber inset
$2250 w/special custom blade design

The following builders, installers, fabricators, designers, and post-production artists have joined the project:
Shatterpoint Sabers - Design
Shadowcrest Designs - Etching
The Sabre Shepherd - Electronics


Please share this campaign with your fellow Star Wars fans and use the hashtag #RiseForRose on social media!


The custom lightsaber community will #RiseForRose ! #UnitedThroughSabers