As well as being the first non-Saga movie in the Star Wars franchise (and the first not to be scored by John Williams), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was also the first instalment to be complete devoid of Jedi characters (save for a fallen Jedi in Darth Vader, of course).
However, it seems that wasn’t always the case, as screenwriter Chris Weitz has revealed in The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that the Jedi did have a presence in earlier drafts of the script, and at one point in development Jyn Erso’s mother Lyra (Valene Kane) was intended to be a Jedi Knight.
“For a long time in the story, there were Jedi around, even if only in the background,” states Weitz. “Jyn’s mother was a Jedi. We thought that it would be more interesting to have a story without Force powers, without lightsabers. We could explore a period of broken faith, a galaxy without hope. There’s despair because the Jedi are gone – and with them, for many, even the memory of the Force. That meant our story could be about normal people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.”
SEE ALSO: Gareth Edwards discusses the original ending to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Would you have liked to see Lyra Erso as a Jedi Knight, or did they make the right decision keeping the Jedi out of the story completely? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story sees Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) directing a cast that includes Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Diego Luna (Milk), Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Alan Tudyk (Con Man), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler), Genevieve O’Reilly (Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith), Jimmy Smits (Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones), James Earl Jones (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope), Valene Kane (The Fall), Alistair Petrie (The Night Manager), Warwick Davis (Star Wars: Episode IV – Return of the Jedi), Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones) and Jonathan Aris (Sherlock).
Originally published December 23, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
