Looks like we haven’t seen the last of Rogue One‘s Saw Gerrera. After learning that Forest Whitaker was game to reprise his role as the Rebel extremist for Star Wars Rebels, we now have word that the character of Gerrera will be explored further in future Star Wars projects.
That’s according to Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, who spoke to Empire (via /Film) regarding Saw Gerrera and, in particular, his future beyond Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Initially, Whitaker’s resistance fighter held a much larger role in the recently released anthology film, but Kennedy conceded that the writing team couldn’t find any more wiggle room to lend Gerrera more screentime.
Given one of the few criticisms leveled against Rogue One was in relation to its sluggish opening act, one which hopped between one planet and the next to establish characters and locales, the decision to scale back Gerrera’s involvement isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Still, it’s sparked renewed interest in the character as a whole, and Kathleen Kennedy has assured fans that Lucasfilm is well aware of the possibilities.
To be honest, we originally thought we were going to develop Saw into something much larger, but we couldn’t accommodate it. So he is not in the movie as much as we would like to have him in the movie, which creates the opportunity to explore his character even further in our future development.
Forest Whitaker, meanwhile, isn’t privy to Lucasfilm’s long-term plans, but at the very least, the actor is happy to see that Saw Gerrera has carved out a niche following. Said he: “I’m curious about what else they’re about to do. Because they seem to really like the character, which is great!”
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is currently screening in theaters across the galaxy. On the topic on Gerrera, what do you think the future holds for Forest Whitaker’s Rebel?
