Thandiwe Newton says makers of Solo: A Star Wars Story made a 'big, big mistake'

Thandiwe Newton in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Photo / Lucasfilm

Thandiwe Newton has lashed out at Star Wars filmmakers, claiming her character being killed off wasn't what she signed up for when accepting the part.

In an interview for Inverse, Newton, 48, reflected on her role as Val in 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story, for which she made history as the first black woman to have a major role in a Star Wars film.

But while it had the potential to be a monumental moment in pop culture, Val was killed off by the end of the film.

"You don't kill off the first black woman to ever have a real role in a Star Wars movie," Newton said. "Like, are you f***ing joking?"

Newton in Westworld. Photo / HBO

According to the Westworld actress, her character was killed off to make it "easier" for set designers working on the scene.

But in the initial script, Val had a different final moment in the film, leaving Newton "disappointed" by the revised ending.

"I felt disappointed by Star Wars that my character was killed," said, explaining: "And, actually, in the script, she wasn't killed.

"It happened during filming. And it was much more just to do with the time we had to do the scenes. It's much easier just to have me die than it is to have me fall into a vacuum of space so I can come back sometime."

She went on to recall how it all played out, revealing her thoughts at the time that the move was a "big mistake".

"It originally was the explosion and she falls out and you don't know where she's gone. So I could have come back at some point. But when we came to filming, as far as I was concerned … it was too huge a set-piece to create, so they just had me blow up and I'm done.

"But I remembered at the time thinking, 'This is a big, big mistake'."

Newton recently made headlines for asking the film industry to start calling her by her real name after being incorrectly credited in her first ever film role.

The mother-of-three, born Melanie Thandiwe Newton, told British Vogue in her first film she was mistakenly credited as "Thandie", and the mistake had stuck.

She told the magazine of finally using Thandiwe: "That's my name. It's always been my name. I'm taking back what's mine."