On This Day: July 15, 1961

By Ciaran Duggan,

Forest Whitaker, who played Saw Gerrera in the stand-alone Star Wars film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was born on this day in 1961.

The American actor reprised his role as the Rebel extremist in Star Wars: Rebels, where he returned to voice the character.  He appeared in the two-part season three story arc, Ghosts of Geonosis.

Saw Gerrera was first introduced into Star Wars canon in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. 

He was a human male resistance fighter who, as a leading member of the Onderon rebels, fought against the Separatists on Onderon during the Clone Wars.

He and his sister Steela Gerrera, were instrumental in the rebel liberation of their homeworld during the Onderonian Civil War.

Saw Gerrera leading the charge in the Onderonian Civil War during the Clone Wars

Saw's resistance cell, a continuation of his Onderonian resistance, was one of the first in the group of cells that formed the Rebel Alliance. 

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Forest Whitaker Is Headed To Celebration Orlando

By: Benjamin Hart

We are now officially a week away from Star Wars Celebration Orlando! Today we have recieved another exciting announce mt about a special celebrity guest that will be making their way to the Sunshine State next week.

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'People' Presents Twenty Minute-Long 'Rogue One' Special

By: Benjamin Hart

The latest issue of People magazine has proven to be full of surprises, including an in depth look at Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as well as virtual reality glasses that can be used with a newly released 360° video. But that's not all they have up their sleeves.

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'Rogue One' IMAX Poster Revealed

By: Benjamin Hart

While seeing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is super exciting, I, for one, can't wait to catch it on the biggest screen! Rogue One will be hitting IMAX theaters next month, and USA Today has just revealed a special IMAX poster for the film.

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Forest Whitaker Talks Saw Gerrera With EW

By: Benjamin Hart

Anthony Breznican over at Entertainment Weekly has been delivering some great pieces on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story news over the past few days in preparation for the new trailer, which is being released tonight. We've gotten new information on Jedha, Bodhi Rook and K-2SO, now Breznican has caught up with Forest Whitaker to reveal new details about his character, Saw Gerrera.

Gerrera has drawn a great deal of interest from fans due to him being a character that originally appeared in season five of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Since being trained in combat by Anakin Skywalker during the Clone War, Gerrera has gone down a dark path which has led to him becoming an infamous extremist rebel leader. His tactics have set him apart from the main rebel alliance at the time of Rogue One, but he will still have a part to play in the film's story.

Whitaker first comments on Saw's condition at this point and he apparently isn't doing well. The bulking suit he's seen wearing in the previous trailer is somewhat of a life support system. Whitaker points to that, as well as Gerrera's harsh ways of fighting, as a parallel to his former friend-turned Sith Lord Darth Vader. About the suit he explains:

“This is his armored suit for flight, but also for maintenance. He’s been through many conflicts and many wars, so it’s also about [repairing] some of the many injuries he’s had. He wears it all the time.”

He also discusses Saw's philosophy at this point in his life and how he views he legacy:

“I don’t think he’s regretful. I think he really believes that what he has done is right. He understands that the universe could be destroyed and worlds could be destroyed if he doesn’t succeed. And he’s one of the only people who will do everything to make sure the Imperial forces don’t.”

Whitaker additionally touches on his relationship with Jyn Erso and what the meaning behind his now iconic "what will you become?" speech from the last trailer:

“He’s really close to her, and they have a very powerful relationship. He’s talking about how you maybe make compromises that may harm people, or may harm the situation, or people may question it, but if you’re doing it for the good, there’s a positive thing about that. But what does it make you become? And how do you change as a person?”

And the last bit from Whitaker is very intriguing. In the previous trailer Saw appeared bald, but in a photo that was released later he was shown to have hair along with different facial hair and scars. While many speculated the differences were due to changes during the recent reshoots, Whitaker confirms that's not the case and we will see both looks for Saw in the film:

“We made some decisions about how the character was progressing. They had a lot of opportunity to make tweaks and different things. You’ll see both.”

Be sure to check out the full interview at EW.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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New 'Rogue One' Info Released Via Official Star Wars Databank

By: Benjamin Hart

With the new trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story just hours away from release, hype is building and news about the film seems to be popping up everywhere. The latest bit of information regarding Rogue One comes to us from the official Star Wars site. StarWars.com's Databank has been updated to include a collection of characters, vehicles and locations from Rogue One, and with it we got some interesting new details!

First off, in the description for Jedha, it's revealed that the planet is a frozen desert world and it's history with the Jedi is also touched on:

"A small desert moon frosted by a permanent winter, Jedha is home to one of the first civilizations to explore the nature of the Force. At one time a world important to the Jedi Order, Jedha serves as a holy site for pilgrims from across the galaxy who seek spiritual guidance. Now, the Empire occupies Jedha, and a prolonged battle between Imperial forces and scattered Rebels carries on in the timeworn streets."

Furthermore, in the description for Saw Gerrera, it's confirmed that Saw is on Jedha at the time of the film leading his extremist rebel group against the Empire:

"A battered veteran of the Clone Wars as well as the ongoing rebellion against the Empire, Saw Gerrera leads a band of Rebel extremists. Saw has lost much in his decades of combat, but occasional flashes of the charismatic and caring man he once was shine through his calloused exterior. Gerrera is bunkered on the ancient world of Jedha, coordinating a prolonged insurgency against the Imperial occupation. Saw’s ailing health has not withered his resolve to fight."

Next, we get a profile of Scarif which describes the extent of the Empire's presence there:

"The planet Scarif would be a beautiful tropical paradise if not for the presence of a major Imperial military installation. Scarif is the principal construction facility for the vast Imperial war machine. The world is enveloped in impenetrable deflector shields and is heavily defended."

And in the Shoretroopers' summary it's mentioned that the planet is home to an Imperial headquarters:

"Specialist stormtroopers stationed at the top secret Imperial military headquarters on Scarif, Shoretroopers patrol the beaches and bunkers of the planetary facility."

And lastly, we get some info about the AT-ACT walkers and what makes them different from AT-ATs:

"A larger version of the standard combat AT-AT, the AT-ACT walker features a dedicated cargo bed for the transportation of heavy building materials or combat munitions. It was deployed at major Imperial construction projects, such as shipyards and sprawling research installations."

If you'd like to check out all the rest of the databank entries you can find links to them below:

• Jyn Erso
• Captain Cassian Andor
• K-2SO
• Baze Malbus
• Chirrut Îmwe
• Bodhi Rook
• Saw Gerrera
• Director Orson Krennic
• Shoretroopers
• Scarif
• Jedha
• AT-ACT
• U-Wing

The fact that Jedha is a cold planet, despite looking like a warm desert world, explains the heavy jacket Cassian Andor has been seen wearing in various photos and footage. And Saw Gerrera being on Jedha gives us a clue that a large portion of the film will most likely play out there. It's also interesting to speculate that there may be more going on at Scarif than just the Death Star's final stages of construction(not that that isn't enough).

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on December 16th!

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Pablo Hidalgo Provides Insight Into Forest Whitaker's Rogue One Character

By Ciaran Duggan,

In the newest installment of The Star Wars Show, Story Group writer Pablo Hidalgo talks about the recent announcement that Forest Whitaker will play former Clone Wars character, Saw Gerrera, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In the show, Pablo had this to say:

Pablo Hidalgo: Saw's been kicking around for a while. A lot of people know him from The Clone Wars, but he actually started off before that. George Lucas had him in mind for his live-action TV series that was in development, which ultimately never happened, but he found a place to put Saw in the story from The Clone Wars

Andi Gutierrez: And he's been mentioned in other titles. He's been mentioned in Bloodline, in Rebels.

Pablo Hidalgo: Yeah Saw if you're to think of him, he is an extreme rebel. He's definitely against the Empire, but he does things that morally push against the kind of things Bail Organa and Mon Mothma stand for. He's definitely the more extreme side of the Rebel Alliance. 

Peter Townley: And so now after the seeds have been planted, here we are with a live-action portrayal in a film. 

Pablo Hidalgo: Yeah the way that came about is as the Rogue One story started to gel, the filmmakers realised they needed a Rebel extremist-type character and we already had one in Saw. They took that character, ran with it and as they started developing the script they realised there was only one person they wanted to play this character and that was Forest Whitaker.

Pablo's insight into Star Wars is always welcome and I have to say that the addition of Saw to the movie saga is incredibly exciting. It tells me that the Story group are very adept at their jobs and they are aware of the impact each individual character will and could make into the cinematic saga. It also shows that the Story Group are prepared to use compelling characters from TV shows, like The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, and put them onto the big, cinematic screen. 

The latest episode also touched upon other main stories of the week. These stories included the recent revelation of other character names in Rogue One. Lucasfilm also show audiences an exclusive 'Rey' teaser from the new Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens game and they even show some behind the scenes action from the new Star Wars animated TV series, LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. Take a watch down below:



Source: Star Wars YouTube

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The Identity Of Forest Whitaker's Character In 'Rogue One' Revealed

By: Benjamin Hart

There's been a lot of exciting news from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story coming out today! This morning we got a look at the cover of the next issue of Entertainment Weekly which prominently features Rogue One characters and vehicles, and a confirmation that Darth Vader himself will be appearing in the film. Later, we got a run down of the principal characters, but one was curiously left out and teased to have been someone we've seen before.

Forest Whitaker's character in Rogue One, who was seen and heard in the epic Rogue One trailer that was released a while back, has been shrouded in secrecy. EW has now revealed the identity of the character, and it's now who you were expecting.

Forest Whitaker is portraying none other than Saw Gerrera. Fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will recognize that name as one belonging to one of the Onderon freedom fighters seen in season five of the series. Whitaker will be playing a much older, and much different Saw Gerrera, who was voiced Andrew Kishino in The Clone Wars.

As EW reports, Whitaker's portrayal visually pays homage to the animated character:

"The eyes are different — the animated show featured vivid aquamarine eyes, while Whitaker’s are brown — but they maintained the scar that slices up over his left eye. (In the cartoon, it bisects the eyebrow, but in the live-action film, the cut arches just above it.) In this new image of Whitaker, he also looks fairly different than what we first saw in the trailer. Here, he has a full head of hair, while in the previous footage he was shaved."

It seems things have not gone well for Saw since we last saw him. What he experienced in the Clone Wars seemed to have driven him to lead a resistance that was less than honorable. In the Star Wars Rebels episode "The Honorable Ones" Agent Kallus tells a haunting story of his run in with one of Gerrera's mercenaries. Also, in the recent novel Star Wars: Bloodline, set just a few years prior to The Force Awakens, "the campaigns of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans" was mentioned in passing. Saw has developed a reputation, and our new Rebel heroes in Rogue One are well aware of it as Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy explains:

“Consider him kind of a battered veteran who leads a band of Rebel extremists, He’s on the fringe of the Rebel Alliance. Even [they] are a little concerned about him.... He’s off on his own."

Be sure to head over to EW to read the full article! Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on December 16th!

Source: EW

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