Ever since Disney's acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, the prequels and the Clone Wars aspects of the saga have largely gone untouched and unmentioned. In fact, The Clone Wars animated series was cancelled shortly after Disney acquired the blockbuster franchise, and instead, a new animated series set in the years just prior to A New Hope came into being.
That's finally changing now, as it has now been revealed that one of Rogue One's most mysterious characters is actually one dedicated Star Wars fans have met before. Forest Whitaker's character, briefly seen in the Rogue One trailer uttering the line, "If you continue to fight, what will you become?" is none other than Saw Gerrera, an insurgent fighter first seen in season five of The Clone Wars.
In the animated series, Saw and his sister fought alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in an effort to liberate Saw's planet of Onderon, with the two Jedi unofficially training Saw and his fellow insurgents to use guerrilla warfare against the invading Separatist droid army. Saw is also mentioned in the Star Wars novel Bloodline and in the Rebels animated series.
So, what is Saw up to during the events of Rogue One? More than two decades after Revenge of the Sith and the end of the Clone Wars, Saw is still fighting, this time against the tyranny of the Empire. However, he's not officially a member of the rebel alliance. His tactics, if Bloodline is to be believed, are extreme and considered to be acts of terrorism by some, which leads some members of the Rebels to distance themselves from Saw's organization.
Saw will be an ally to Jyn Erso and her band of rebels in Rogue One. EW reveals that the threat of the Death Star serves to unite the various factions of the still in its infancy Rebel Alliance. For the story to work, those involved in the production wanted to show a more extreme character on the other side of the spectrum from the do-good rebel heroes fans are accustomed to seeing. Saw Gerrera fits the bill perfectly.
He looks slightly different from his appearance in The Clone Wars. He's obviously older and more battle-hardened now. His eyes have changed color from the show to film, and his eye scar has been slightly moved. He's also bald (or at least is bald for part of the film). Yet, it's still Gerrera, which should be exciting for fans of the saga who have kept up with the franchise's new and still-ongoing expanded universe.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is in theaters Dec. 16.
