Rogue One [Official Info] Donnie Yen (Chirrut Imwe) in Rogue One (incl. Force sensitivity discussion)

He's clearly a master of Teras Kasi....or Venusian akido.

 

Just as an FYI, the new "get out" gif (see below*) is this:



*Old "get out" gif

 

I don't like that gif. You can see he obviously misses that stormtrooper by a mile.

 

He'll need to be hunted down and put to death by Vader if he is a Jedi.

 

Although now that I think about it it is a Star Wars tradition passed down from Hamill to McGregor to now Yen. It's like poetry.

 

Donnie Yen defeating that stormtrooper was the only part of the trailer I didn't like. I had an Ewok flashback about ballistic armour being helpless against sticks.

Honestly, you could take one of those sticks and smash it over the head of someone in a stormtrooper helmet and they only thing they would feel is mild annoyance

And as cool as it looks, a stick is going to be no good against someone with a blaster who is standing 10 meters away. It just gave me Morgan from walking dead vibes where i can't stop thinking that he would be better off with a sharp rather than blunt instrument.

 

According to MSW, Jiang Wen, the actor playing the "heavy gunner" character in Rogue One, is also present during this scene. So it looks like Yen will have considerable firepower at his back.

I love this scene. Stormtroopers mistake him for a harmless blind man - perhaps they even ridicule him - and then bam. Practical issues of sticks and helmets be damned.

 

"Go on buddy. you go first with your stick. I'll hang back here with my BFG and mini-nuke launcher"

 

Exactly.

 

Like a version of Wong Fei Hung's 無影腳 (Wu Ying Jiao) or Shadowless Kick... Hahaha!

 

Looking at the wide shot of Donnie surrounded by Stormtroopers, there's a figure in the background dressed very similar to him. The same dark blue robe, the same red accents, and also carrying a cane. To the right of that figure, there are two more people wearing red robes that match the colour of Donnie's red inner robe. What's going on with this? Is this a monastery of some sort?

 

I believe it is a monastery of sorts.

Also, that short figure with the cane in the background looks like an old woman. An old Mongolian, Kazakh or Tibetan woman. There's very much an arid Central/ North Asian flair to the styles and look of this place and its inhabitants. Liking it a lot.

 

Dang, the Stormtroopers need to catch up on their Zatoichi... or you know, "sticks and stones may break my bones...."

Nice calls sirs: people dressed similar to Yen and the monastery-like place. Part of the reason I dig Star Wars fandom, we notice EVERYTHING.

 

Maybe they're members of the Church of the Force.

 

Could be he has force sensitivity and is not a Jedi. If he were a Jedi, he'd have to face Vader, otherwise it defeats the purpose of having a Jedi in the film. And two days later, Tarkin is doubting the existence of any Jedi at all. "You my friend, are all that's left of their religion" doesn't make sense if Vader just recently killed another Jedi who survived Order 66.

 

There is always the option of having people who are like the Miraluka, blind in terms of normal sight, but "seeing" through the force, without necessarily having any further connection to the force.

 

I'd be very Happy if he turns out to be Kanan from Rebels!

 

Whoever he is, he's got one of my favorite costumes in the GFFA.

 

Agreed. Elegant, yet very practical. And still so much mystery.

 

Yup. And it's got layers without being convoluted or visually busy. The blue and red, with the white diagonal sash, give it a simple elegance. And then that mysterious arm band/ vambrace. He looks like a proper space warrior-monk.

This is the kind of thing I had hoped for with the Jedi in the PT. Varied designs with a rich cultural history. Not Obi-Wan's Tatooine outfit pasted across the galaxy.

That's the thing about Rogue One. Somehow, Edwards seems to be tapping into my head canon.

 

Nicely put. There's a lot of practical in all the Rogue One costumes. Sure some echo Han and Biggs pre-flight suit attire (and they should considering the era this film takes place), but I definitely want to see a lot more of the individual cultures and societies coming through too. The look of a character helps me believe in the character and given how vast this galaxy is, I want to see more variety in the costumes and looks for humans and aliens.

I felt the same way about the PT Jedi attire, I loved the many concepts and histories Amidala's costumes winked at and I hoped we see a lot more stuff like that for the Jedi. Sure there could be a basic template, but build on that. Lots of color and different fabrics / textures. After all, the Shaw Brothers take on Shaolin Monks came up with some very unique looks over the course of several different films. Rolling off computer chair now.

I am glad that Edwards is expanding upon what we know while making these characters feel like they're a part of that era.

 

hoping he's just a special type of warrior. we've heard of mandalorians, we've heard of jedi, in the Anakin and Obi-wan comic book they see a humanoid race that looked like a type of warrior race, so why not make these new characters something new and their own thing, with their own lore which can be spoken about in this movie (maybe the introductory scene) and even more in the comics/novels. if FS, sure, ill buy it, but i'd prefer they distance themselves from the FS-but-not-a-jedi type deal. although, a "we use the force, but not in a way you'd expect" type deal, especially for blind-warriors, would be kinda cool.. more so when we are so close to ANH. i dig the fact that Order 66 was as brutal and efficient as it was made out in the OT (no Jedi except Luke/Obi/Yoda), that time had passed and if it wasnt for the 2 surviving members of Order 66 passing on what they did to Luke, there would be no ANH. sure, Rebels (and TCW to an extent) already opened the floodgates for more possible Jedi that survived or FS individuals that dont prescribe to the Jedi way. not something i particularly like but have accepted, but this movie again, is real close to ANH so a new culture or something like that would both be fresh and not tippy-toeing around the basis the OT (and PT) left.

 

I think that's exactly what we're getting. If you look in the background of the Donnie Yen scene, there are some folks in red/ blue and red robes, that seem to be part of the same culture or sub-culture Yen belongs to. I'm guessing that this is a monastery of sorts. Perhaps the Church of the Force that TFA set up will be given a deeper background. Very excited about this element of the new canon.

 

Yes, I'd definitely like to see more warrior cultures in the Star Wars universe. Nicely conceptualized there Big Boss

If you're in or near Toronto on May 7th, Donnie will appear at a screening of Wu Xia.

Yen career article at cityonfire.com