Felicity Jones found worldwide fame when she portrayed the role of Jane Wilde in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything. The actor later went on to portray the role of Jyn Erso in the iconic 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The plot was relatively simple as Jyn Erso had allegedly no relevance to the Jedi in the Star Wars universe. However, director Gareth Edwards had a different plan which was later changed.
Felicity Jones’s Jyn Erso Was Supposed To Be A Jedi
In the film, it is shown that Jyn Erso had a non-Jedi mother who was killed by the Galactic Empire. Growing up, she finds comfort in Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor and joins the Rebel squad.
Although she doesn’t have any relevance to Jedi or The Force, concept artist Erik Tiemens revealed (via SlashFilm) that the early version of the script showed Jyn Erso’s mother as a Jedi hiding from the Empire.
If that had been the case, Jyn Erso would have been a little sensitive to the Force which would have eventually made her a Jedi. However, the script underwent a change and the Jedi angle was changed to that of a non-Jedi parent.
According to the first draft, Felicity Jones’s character had a little brother as well but that decision was also changed during the final script for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Gareth Edwards Always Wanted To Bring Jyn Back Home
Gareth Edwards proved himself to be a good director when he released the 2014 film Godzilla. The director later joined the Star Wars franchise and worked on several projects in various roles.
According to concept artist Erik Tiemens, director Gareth Edwards had said that he would want Jones’ Erso to be back home at the end of the film. Although it may not be a physical home, the story of Erso was always circular.
“From our first meetings, [director] Gareth [Edwards] had us drawing pie charts to break down the acts — the first act, the second act, the third act.
He further continued that,
[Jyn’s journey was] always a circle, from our hero’s family home to an underworld to the rallying of the troops, and Gareth always wanted to get Jyn back home again; it starts with the home and ends with [a metaphorical] home.
With the report stating that the original script had Jyn’s mother as a Jedi, it could have meant that Gareth Edwards wanted Felicity Jones’ Erso to become a Jedi (or at least know the Force) by the end of the film.
However, the script was later changed but it would have been good to see Jyn Erso as a Jedi somewhere in the universe. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story received a rating of 7.8/10 on IMDB and a whopping 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The iconic 2016 film is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
