Monaghan rose to prominence thanks to his role as the lovable Hobbit Merry in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, and starred as Charlie Pace on the Abrams-produced Lost from 2004-2010 on ABC. He appeared in Duncan Jones' Netflix movie, Mute, this year.

The actor has been vocal about his interest in appearing in a Star Wars movie, and has spoken about broaching the subject with Abrams after the director signed up for 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At the time, Abrams told him he was building a cast of unknowns, akin to the stars of the original 1977 film. Monaghan's role in Episode IX is unknown.

Episode IX, directed by Abrams, began production earlier this month. Its cast includes Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Billie Lourd. New stars include Naomi Ackie, Logan actor Richard E. Grant and Keri Russell, while original Star Wars actors returning include Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams. Carrie Fisher will appear as Leia via unused footage from The Force Awakens.

Monaghan, who has been sharing cryptic Star Wars teases on social media Friday, is repped by APA. Disney and Lucasfilm open Star Wars: Episode IX on Dec. 20, 2019.