Shadow & Act | Tambay Obenson
Revealed yesterday, after much anticipation and speculation, audiences now know the identities of the characters in the upcoming “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
The character Forest Whitaker is playing is one that fans know from the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series – a freedom fighter named Saw Gerrera, who, along with his sister, once fought alongside Darth Vader, although this was when the Sith lord was an impetuous young Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. Saw Gerrera would later becomes a key figure in the rebellion against the Empire.
The Starwars.com website has a lengthy backstory on the character, so head over there to read it all.
Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera in “Rogue One”
“He’s an extreme Rebel. He’s definitely against the Empire, but he does things that morally push against the kind of things that Bail Organa and Mon Mothma stand for. He’s definitely the more extreme side of the Rebel Alliance,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy says. “He’s on the fringe of the Rebel Alliance. Even [they] are a little concerned about him.”
Also newly announced, James Earl Jones will once again provide the menacing voice of Darth Vader in the upcoming “Star Wars” standalone movie.
The 85-year-old actor voiced the Sith Lord in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, as well as the 2005 prequel film “Revenge of the Sith.”
Vader’s return in the new film had long been suspected by “Star Wars” diehards, but it was officially confirmed this week.
“He will be in the movie sparingly,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said. “But at a key, strategic moment, he’s going to loom large.”
“Rogue One,” which tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star, is directed by Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla,” “Monsters”).
The cast including Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, and of course Forest Whitaker.
The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and is slated for a December 16, 2016 release.