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

From the article on starwars.com :

Thoughts on his casting and what his role could be?

*Post plagiarized shamelessly from starocean90

 

Well as I've said in other threads: YAY! Donnie's involvement catapults me into the movie theatre.

Blind Jedi...

No...not Donnie does Zatochi please. If that is the case, I hope they do it differently, I heard blind swordsman and I immediately think Zatoichi.

My goofing aside, I do like the staff as a lightsaber; a modified rift on a spear or Kuan Do. I hope we get some background on these characters and the cultures/worlds they are from.

 

Hmmm, maybe he found this guy's saber...

 

Definitely digging the blind Jedi thing, and I've elected to believe it until given reason not to. As for it being similar to Zatoichi, Star Wars has a history of riffing off of classic films, including and in some cases particularly Japanese samurai cinema. It's rooted in the series' DNA. I also don't feel it particularly diminishes Luke's journey, especially since I don't see this guy living to the end credits. If Vader kills him in a duel meant solely to buy the Rebels time to escape, I think that would strengthen Luke's journey by showing Vader's ruthlessness in eliminating the last traces of the Jedi. We see prior to A New Hope that a few sparks of the Order are left, and Vader is snuffing them all out until, by RotJ, Luke is the last one left.

 

The Straits Times article from last month straight up said he was cast as a Jedi. Actually, it said "Chinese Jedi", which at the time I thought was just awkward wording, but now I'm beginning to wonder if he might be a member of some other Force-using sect, or perhaps a Jedi splinter group.

 

Changed tag to Official.

 

Another Jedi? So many "only hopes"

 

If that staff is a lightsaber, he's holding it wrong. Ouch. I don't think he's a Jedi, but is highly in-tune with his surroundings, like Zatoichi.

 

Even if this staff looks like a lightsaber, I don't think he is a Jedi. It was said that there won't be any Jedi in Rogue One.

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Never said they would not use his talents, they're going to push Donnie's skills to max but I hope they'll allow him some dramatic time too.

I'd love something like this (not the ad):

 

I found the inspiration for his character:




As soon as I saw him in the image, I couldn't get this MadTV character out of my head. The movie is going to be ruined for me now.

 

Exactly. He could be one of the Lost Twenty...or a Jedi who was able to escape Order 66.

Agree 100%. I might even be more excited for this now than TFA.

 

He could be an elite fighter WITHOUT needing to be a Jedi. Those do exist you know.

 

Does every freaking thing in this universe have to be tied to the Jedi in some way? Even something that we were explicitly told WASN'T, it sounds boring/unimaginative.

 

He could easily be a "Force Sensitive" that never had the opportunity to hone his skills or train under the Jedi Order because of Order 66 and the rise of the Empire. That would be very much in line Edward's earlier statements, about the lack of Jedi lingering like a shadow over the the characters in this film. Yen's character could have so much more potential than he is able to actually tap into, which would surely be frustrating to him and hinder him on an emotional/mental level.

Could be something that he is suppressing, too, or perhaps not even consciously aware of to its fullest extent. If Force potential is there with this character, which it very well may be, I don't think he's going to be a full fledged Jedi.

 

Indeed. I was thinking they could go this route too. My imagination also toyed with the idea that he could be one of the Lost Twenty who has been purposely suppressing his abilities for some time. With Donnie there is a lot of different ways the character can go, Jedi or not, Force sensitive or not. But I do think he is Force sensitive.

 

No he isn't Lucasfilm have already said this movie will not have any jedi. They want it to be a dark war film where the characters are trying to survive.