Jyn Erso might be cheering up her band of Rebels by telling them “May the Force be with us” in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but all signs point to this being the first Star Wars film in which no one will actually use the Force.
Everyone already knows that Rogue One has been touted as a gritty war movie, and could in fact be the most violent Star Wars film ever. Plus, it won’t feature anyone from the Skywalker family, save for Darth Vader in what looks to be a glorified cameo.
But, now, new comments from actor Diego Luna — Captain Cassian Andor in the movie — make it sound like even Force-sensitive people like Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) won’t actually get to “stretch-out-with-their-feelings” and make the magic happen. In the Mexican edition of Vanity Fair, Luna mentioned that he feels “the characters are very similar to us. They are heroes with no powers.”
This comment is telling as the most “gritty” aspect of Rogue One might not be the the violence, but instead, the absence of the the deus ex machina of the Force. In a sense, the Force is the one plot device in all of Star Wars that always saves “ordinary” or “real” characters from certain doom. Luke is able to blow up the Death Star in A New Hope using the Force at the last minute. Leia is able to rescue Luke from Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back using the Force in the knick of time. Rey is able to take down Kylo Ren with the Force in The Force Awakens. You get it. Without the Force to bail everyone out in Rogue One, the likelihood of all of them dying seems a lot higher.
Now, of course Diego Luna might just be speaking generally about the movie. Maybe Chirrut Îmwe does have the Force. Or maybe even Darth Vader will have a full display of evil Dark side superpowers in Rogue One.
Or maybe, all of this is just as it seems: Last year the Force was fully awoken, and this year, in Rogue One, it goes back to sleep.
