Saw Gerrera wasn’t the first Star Wars character to make the leap from animation to one of the live-action films. That honor belongs to Boba Fett, thanks to the Star Wars Holiday Special that everyone would rather forget. That said, Gerrera is the first character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars to land a major role in a Star Wars movie since Disney took over the franchise. Forest Whitaker portrayed Gerrera in the recently released Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and he’s set to reprise his role next month on Star Wars Rebels.
“It’s an incredible honor to have Forest Whitaker play Saw in Rebels,” said Star Wars Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni in a statement with the announcement. “Forest did a great job at capturing Saw in a way that is a bit mad, a bit crazed, a bit afraid, but also a bit sympathetic. He sees something coming, but no one will take action before it’s too late.”
Lucasfilm also released a brief teaser view for Saw Gerrera’s return, which offers a few more overt hints about the Death Star even before the name was revealed to the characters in Rogue One.
Also: Read Our Review of ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’
Star Wars Rebels takes place a few years before Rogue One, which may explain why Saw Gerrera isn’t quite as physically broken as he appeared to be in that film. That would make this appearance an excellent opportunity to reveal how his character was seemingly crippled before receiving new droid limbs. However, the time frame appears to rule out a guest appearance by Jyn Erso…for now. But we wouldn’t be surprised if she shows up on the series at a later date.
Saw Gerrera’s episode of Star Wars Rebels will air next month. New episodes will resume on Disney XD on January 7, 2017.
Are you excited about the new Rogue One and Star Wars Rebels connection? Let us know in the comment section below!
