Rogue One’s Donnie Yen Would Consider Returning to Star Wars Universe

Donnie Yen says he would consider the return of his Rogue One: A Star Wars Story character Chirrut Îmwe to the Star Wars universe. As the first non-Skywalker saga story to be released following 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One (2016) bet on several new faces to captivate audiences. Set immediately before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, the film follows a group of rebels led by Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) who attempt to steal the Death Star plans. Thanks to the chemistry and likability of those rebels, Rogue One was a commercial and critical success.

Rogue One’s breakout characters included Donnie Yen’s Chirrut Îmwe. The martial arts legend, perhaps best known for the Ip Man franchise, played a blind Force-devoted warrior monk who fought with a wooden staff and handmade light bow. While working as a preacher in Jedha City, Chirrut and his partner Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) joined Jyn and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) on their mission to steal the Death Star plans before dying during the Battle of Scarif. Yen delivered many of the film’s best lines, including “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me,” crafting a fan-favorite Star Wars character. Despite originally being a one-off story, Rogue One is getting a prequel series on Disney+ entitled Andor.

In a recent interview with Looper, Yen talked about the possibility of returning to the Star Wars universe. Asked whether he would be open to reprising the role, he said he’d definitely consider it. While Chirrut and pretty much every other key character never left Scarif, if Cassian can return, so can everyone/anyone else. Read what Yen had to say below:

“Well, I would definitely consider it. I had a great time shooting Rogue One, and I guess people like my character. It really depends, you don’t know what they’re thinking. I leave it up to Disney to sort it out. We’ll see. I believe in destiny. A lot of times, what brings people together in one film, it’s all about timing and destiny.”

The Luna-lead prequel series will premiere sometime in 2022 and explore his backstory working with the rebellion prior to his sacrifice in Rogue One. Unless Yen is playing coy, Chirrut most likely doesn’t appear in its first season. If it gets a second, Chirrut and even Baze could show up in at least a cameo/standalone episode capacity that sets up another series. Their inclusion would be difficult considering they wouldn’t be able to run into Cassian without continuity issues—something Disney+’s Star Wars shows are very aware of as evident by The Mandalorian’s stellar storytelling.

Whether or not Yen ever reprises his role from Rogue One and returns to the Star Wars universe revolves around narrative. It would be interesting to delve into his character’s backstory as one of the Guardians of the Whills, but when and where would this make sense? With upcoming shows like Andor, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, The Book of Boba Fett, and The Acolyte, it’s clear that Lucasfilm isn’t afraid to double down on the small screen. For now, Yen is plenty busy as he’s set to play an ally assassin of Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4, which is scheduled for release in May of 2022.

Source: Looper

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Josh Plainse
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Josh Plainse is a writer, movie, and television fanatic based out of Wisconsin. Josh works for Screen Rant covering the latest in entertainment while simultaneously pursuing the never-ending dream of becoming an established novelist, screenwriter, and/or decent human being. Josh would accredit characters such as Goku, Han Solo, Simba, and Maximus Decimus Meridius for instilling within him an affinity for storytelling. It is this incessant obsession which has propelled him to seek opportunities that inform, entertain, and inspire others.

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