The first actual footage for Rogue One is here and will doubtlessly remind Star Wars fans of a very similar scene in The Force Awakens. Jyn Erso is taking down a squad of stormtroopers, and it’s hard not to be reminded of Rey’s staff-wielding action in The Force Awakens. If you squint, it almost feels like the same scene.
There’s a lot going on in the brief 40-second clip. Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso are running for cover in a marketplace, blasting away at stormtroopers, while totally appropriate Star Wars-chase music blares. Suddenly, Jyn pulls out a baton-type weapon and beats the stormtroopers senseless while Cassian looks on, feeling as though there isn’t much he needs to do to help. His raised-eyebrows expression says it all: Jyn’s got this.
The footage of Jyn beating down stormtroopers has been glimpsed in trailer footage before, but in this context — from the actual movie — it’s very reminiscent of a similar scene in The Force Awakens There, Rey used her staff to dispatch a group of thugs surrounding her on Jakku, and as Finn rushed to her rescue, he realized Rey didn’t really need his help at all. The reaction from Cassian Andor in this new Rogue One scene is almost identical to Finn’s reaction in The Force Awakens.
So, is this just aesthetically similar or is Rogue One making an intentional and specific reference to The Force Awakens here? If it’s the latter, get ready for a whole new round of rumors in which fans start to wonder if Jyn Erso actually is related to Rey after all. This clip just aired on The Tonight Show. Watch it below, and prepare for a humorous ending involving the new droid, K-S2O.
