At long last, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is finally here. Touching down in theatres today, Gareth Edwards’ prequel may not be the smash hit that The Force Awakens proved to be, but it’s still receiving mostly positive reviews and is on track for a pretty big opening at the box office. All things considered, it’s definitely a success for the studio and represents another exciting chapter in the franchise.
We’ve heard in the past that no matter how well Rogue One does though, there won’t be a sequel. That’s because one already exists in the form of A New Hope. Not only that, but given the way the prequel ends, it really doesn’t leave the door open for a follow up. If you haven’t yet seen it, you may want to turn back now and bookmark this page for later, as we’ll be discussing some pretty heavy spoilers. You’ve been warned.
Those who’ve already caught Rogue One will know that by the end of the film, almost all of the main characters have died. It’s a ballsy ending, but one that ensures a sequel isn’t possible. Despite this, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Felicity Jones, who plays Jyn Erso, has a sequel option in her contract, which means Lucasfilm could bring her back to reprise the role if they so choose.
However, with the character not alive anymore, how would this be possible? Well, there seems to be a few ways to explain things. The most likely case is that perhaps when the actress signed on, the studio was planning to keep Jyn alive. After all, we know that Rogue One went through tons of reshoots, so maybe it was only later on that they decided to kill her off.
Alternatively, perhaps the sequel option is simply for a cameo in a future Star Wars movie. Whether that be in one of the numbered films, some kind of spinoff or even a standalone outing for the character is unknown, but the option is there and we shouldn’t assume that we’ve seen the last of Jyn just yet.
Whether or not it’d be smart to bring her back given the events of Rogue One is up for debate, given that she had a pretty great arc in the movie and any further exploration of her character may undermine that. Then again, Jyn does seem to be a hit with fans, so another appearance could work if handled properly and not done just for the sake of having her on screen again.
Either way, for now we can take comfort in the fact that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has turned out to be a wholly satisfying film and one that will no doubt be a firm fan-favorite in the years to come – at least, if the first wave of reactions and reviews are anything to go by.