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nzvalley · 7 years

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Rey’s Mother 2.0

For a long time before The Force Awakens came out I thought that Rey (known then as Kira) was Han & Leia’s. I even thought she was the twin sister to Ben (known then only as Kylo), and I thought they were resurrecting Jaina & Jacen as Kira & Kylo.

The theory took hits with the news that Kira wasn’t Kira and Kylo wasn’t Kylo, and when I saw all the Luke and Anakin parallels in the teasers/trailers I really started to waver. Eventually, especially after reading the Original Rey Skywalker Conspiracy, I became a believer that Rey was Luke’s daughter. That opened up the real mystery: who is her mother?

Before TFA was released I did a quick rundown of who I thought she could be, on the assumption that she would be introduced and set up years before the reveal. This allows some fans to get to know her on her own, and for her character to be developed outside of being Rey’s mother or Luke’s love interest. Then when the revelation happens, there’s a plethora of canon material for new fans of the character to go buy. This new list is an expanded version, with advancements in canon taken into account.

Just as a note of my own bias, basically I’m sticking to what Disney/LucasFilm has presented to us visually and not character from only the novels. Starting with those that won’t be the mother, first I excluded aliens. Next I excluded characters based on their age or their canon fate. Rey wasn’t born until a decade after Endor, so I excluded anyone above 35-ish at the time of Yavin. Along the same lines, certain characters we know die before Rey was born.

Lastly, I excluded characters with blue eyes or blonde hair. Some traits just don’t match up genetically, and two blue-eyed people resulting in a hazel-eyed daughter, or two blondes having a brunette, just don’t match up. There’s no guarantee that Star Wars will follow real-world genetics, or that the writers won’t invoke some one-in-a-million mutation, but I’ll stick to them as guidelines.

Characters excluded for species, age, or genetics: All aliens, Rae Sloane, Mon Mothma, Bo-Katan, Jora Astane, Ketsu Onyo, Brunson, Bixene, Evaan Verlaine, and Queen Trios.

After excluding those characters, there weren’t a ton that fit the bill. None of them are exceptionally strong candidates, without any controversy. When I first made this list, there was a clear front runner (although not named yet) in Jyn Erso. She fit all the requirements and she was the lead role in a huge project, but that has seemingly fallen apart. Without her as the front runner, possibilities include controversial choices that are getting a lot of focus, minor characters who are technically possible but not satisfying, or that one of the minor characters will see a late jump in narrative focus.

With this dearth of choices, I’m wondering if maybe there is a twist coming up. Here are a couple of characters that are, according to the official word, impossible candidates, but could make a dramatic appearance:

Jyn Erso – Some of you may think I’m crazy, but I personally think the fandom bought into her death way too easily and that LucasFilm wanted the heat taken off the speculation. Both the book and the movie play Jyn and Cassian’s deaths ambiguously, leaving a lot of room for their survival. In the movie we never see their bodies or their actual deaths. In the novel the scene ends with Jyn becoming one with the force, which is a metaphor used for death… but it’s also a metaphor used for connection to the Force. Chirrut says “I am one with the Force” constantly throughout the film. It’s possible that Jyn’s latent Force abilities could have come to life in the face of certain doom, like Emma Frost’s secondary mutation in Genosha.

Mara Jade – It’s the perfect time to introduce her. If none of the new, living characters really fit then only Mara could be a revelation that requires no multi-year buildup. Instead, it’s a multi-year cover up. Years of downplaying the idea of her reintroduction, and then she appears in all her glory. People that know her would love it, and for everyone else there’s a simple explanation. “She’s Luke’s wife from the old canon.” It’s easy to understand, and there’s plenty of stuff for people to go out and buy to get a fuller picture. With new stuff on the way, most likely. So yeah, I’ve seen some bitterness about Mara Jade recently, but I actually think she’s in the best position for returning since the reboot.

With those out of the way…

Many of the remaining possibilities are minor characters, and most of them, especially the ones getting narrative focus, seem to be of a different race than Luke- which would upset a lot of people if Daisy Ridley’s Rey were to be put forward as mixed-race. It remains possible genetically, but it would be a controversial choice. Looking at the possibilities, there aren’t a lot of unambiguously white characters that have been introduced in new canon, and all of them are either minor, officially dead, or have blue eyes/blonde hair. It was this realization that led me to consider the above twists. It’s always possible too that Rey isn’t Luke’s daughter, but this post is all about the possibility that she is.

Anyway these characters are all technically possible, but are mostly one-offs: Wiley, Iden Versio, Sosha Soruna, Tula, Tace, Uwa Pareece, Tolvan, Ssaria, & Chanath Cha.

The ones that receive the most narrative focus and interact with the most central characters:

Pash ‘Bash’ Davane – Co-lead of Star Wars Annual 2; only unambiguously white person in the top tier. Red hair, green eyes (which we know Luke likes)… an intelligent, strong badass. She saved Leia and debated ethics and morality with her. So far she has only had one appearance, but characters introduced in the Annual have returned before.

Zarro – Co-lead of the Chewbacca miniseries; she looked younger to me, but she’s described as a teenager… meaning she’s at most 7 years younger than the 19/20 year old Luke. With Rey not being born until over a decade later that would put Zarro around her late twenties and Luke around his mid-thirties.

Sana Starros – Supporting character in Marvel’s Star Wars; Sana has received a lot of media and fan attention since her introduction, and has become an essential part of the team within the Star Wars comic series. Funny and badass. She has a romantic past with Dr. Aphra, but she has also has one with Han and has had some flirtations with Luke.

Sabine Wren – Main Cast of Star Wars Rebels; probably has received the most attention, being a TV character. Around Luke’s age, a staunch believer in the Rebellion, wields the darksaber, but so far they have never canonically crossed paths and we have no idea how long she lives.

Chelli Aphra – Co-lead of Darth Vader and Screaming Citadel; Supporting character in Star Wars; Lead of Doctor Aphra; Easily the breakout character of the new canon. I mentioned her in my first list as my dark horse candidate, and her importance has only grown since. Although her age is ambiguous, I wouldn’t put her beyond ten years older than Luke. She has had numerous interactions with Darth Vader, Leia, Han, and Luke himself. She is currently teamed up with Luke on an adventure. She is also privy to who his mother is and she knows that Vader was obsessed with him. She has a romantic past with Sana, but she also has flirtations with Vader and Luke. So much of her development is tied up with the Skywalker family and with Luke in particular, that her being Rey’s mother would be a really great reveal at this point.

ETA: There were originally images above the top tier, but “@senator-organa” expressed displeasure at the use of one of their images. I removed the others just in case anyone out there was feeling the same. Make sure to click on the Wookiepedia links and take a look at everyone I mention.

#Star Wars #Luke Skywalker #Rey Skywalker #Jyn Erso #Aphra #Mara Jade #Pash Davane #Sabine Wren #Sana Starros #and almost everyone else

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anghraine · 8 years

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“wandering inside this night” - fic (1/2)

fandom: Star Wars

characters: Han Solo, Leia Organa, Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso; Han/Leia, Jyn/Cassian (shutupshutupshutup)

length: 1350

stuff that happens: Jyn’s and Cassian’s survival is very good for the Rebellion and very bad for Han Solo.

As he strode into the control room, Han kept Leia in his line of vision. She didn’t even look at him, just kept fiddling with some controls as she talked with Cassian Andor.

That didn’t help. Andor was … well, Han had a pleasant conversation with him once.

Exactly once.

The TSO concert somehow gave me the dazzling realization that Jyn/Cassian making it to ESB = Jyn/Cassian around during the great Han/Leia meltdown of 1980. Given the Jyn-Han and Cassian-Leia parallels and my headcanons around them, I am utterly delighted by this. I vaguely imagined this in the Death Star 'verse, but it doesn’t matter.

I. Cassian

Han resigned himself to the inevitable.

The Rebellion, that was Luke’s and Leia’s deal. He’d done his part. He stuck around for them, as long as he could, and then some. But he was no dreamer, certainly no revolutionary. He looked after his own and looked after himself. And the odds of doing either if he kept playing around with Rebels had sunk very, very low.

If he’d gotten literally anything out of it, that might be different. Might be. But there was what, surviving ice and snow with Luke? He counted Luke as a good friend, his closest friend, but leaving wouldn’t change that. Luke had come to his own terms with what Han was. And Leia, well. She’d made herself damn clear.

Still, he had some hope of … something, when he went to report his resignation. He made sure to do it at a time when she would be there, and could interfere if she wanted. He didn’t expect her to beg him not to leave her, just—he didn’t know what he expected.

As he strode into the control room, Han kept Leia in his line of vision. She didn’t even look at him, just kept fiddling with some controls as she talked with Cassian Andor.

That didn’t help. Andor was … well, Han had a pleasant conversation with him once.

Exactly once.

As far as he recalled, they’d talked cordially for maybe fifteen minutes about the man’s latest blaster. Andor, whose character combined burning zealotry and icy pragmatism in equal and unattractive measure, did not possess many qualities Han admired—but he did have excellent taste in weaponry. Not that it was the real reason for the conversation. Leia had worked with Andor back in her spying-in-the-Senate days, and after Alderaan, they maintained what they termed a good working relationship and normal people called friendship. Vaguely, Han thought placating Andor might help with the princess. Idiocy—not that he’d succeeded at either.

As far as Andor’s brief foray into courtesy went, that had to be his wife’s doing. Han considered her a good woman, a good friend, and usually a good drinking buddy—much too good for Andor, in fact. Luke’s conspiracy theories aside, Han could scarcely believe his ears when he discovered they’d been quietly married for almost a year. With the Death Star and all, well, things happened under stress. But marriage? Jyn Erso and the galaxy’s prissiest assassin? Apparently so. Somehow they managed to stand each other, and now and then, Andor unbent a little for her sake.

A very little. And not at all, right now.

“We do need more information out of engineering,” he was saying to Leia, “but training isn’t enough at that level. Anyone who comes near will be checked double, triple.”

“Then we’ll have to get a real one,” said Leia, decidedly. “Can we recruit? Out of the Academy, maybe?”

She didn’t ask Han questions. Not when she wanted a real answer. Han glanced towards them, though of course he had nothing to see except Leia’s back and Andor’s angular face. Did Leia find it attractive? She might. She and Jyn had plenty in common—maybe similar tastes in men, too. For one beautiful moment, he fantasized about smashing that face out of shape. Unfortunately, he felt sure that people who attacked Andor didn’t enjoy the life expectancy Han was looking for.

“That will be too young,” Andor was replying, just as Leia said,

“No, definitely too young.”

Said the twenty-something ancients, thought Han. He wasn’t guessing at their ages; if he had, he would have thought them both older. But Leia was actually the exact same age as Luke, twenty-two on Empire Day. He knew because he looked it up the day they met. Andor, meanwhile, turned out to be several years younger than Han. He owed that unwelcome knowledge to a drunken night of complaining with Jyn Erso, which had included a rant about Andor’s forthcoming birthday (twenty-nine).

Even drinking with Jyn made it all worse, in a roundabout way. Andor didn’t seem to return his jealousy in the slightest. And he had better reason for it. Not that Jyn—but it wasn’t like Andor and Leia did anything together except plot the overthrow of the Empire. Jyn, though she didn’t flirt, certainly did go carousing with the men now and then. Yet Andor regarded this with the same cool indifference that he regarded everything. It might be a front, but Jyn said he really didn’t care. She actually laughed. Cassian’s a walking database of Alliance secrets. He doesn’t want me to live my life on guard just because he has to.

Han walked up to General Rieekan, trying to glower in Andor’s direction without actually looking at him. It didn’t really work.

“Solo?”

“No sign of life out there, General,” Han said. “The sensors are in place. You’ll know if anything comes around.”

“Commander Skywalker reported in yet?” asked Rieekan.

“No. He’s checking out a meteorite that hit near him.”

Rieekan studied the screen in front of them. “With all the meteor activity in this system, it’s going to be difficult to spot approaching ships.”

The officers with him murmured agreement, thankfully drowning out the peripheral conversations in the war room. But a quick look showed Han that Leia still paid no attention, instead saying something that had Andor nodding his head.

Han took a deep breath. “General, I’ve got to leave. I can’t stay anymore.”

Did Leia’s back stiffen? It might have. He couldn’t read body language quite as easily under five layers of quilted snowsuit. Andor looked his way, though, which Han counted as a minor victory.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rieekan was saying.

“Well, there’s a price on my head,” said Han. “If I don’t pay off Jabba the Hutt, I’m a dead man.”

“A death mark’s not an easy thing to live with,” Rieekan said.

Han suppressed the feeling that he’d just acquired a new one. He could feel Andor’s gaze and Leia’s studied indifference from across the room. When he chanced another look, Leia had definitely stiffened, but not even turned around yet. Andor, usually expressionless beyond an occasional fine-grained amusement, stared at him with open loathing.

“You’re a good fighter, Solo,” Rieekan said. “I hate to lose you.”

Han felt a nasty sort of clench in his chest. It would’ve been easier if they’d cut up over it, forced him to defend ditching all this, but the officers just gave him sympathetic looks and nods. Except one, of course.

“Thank you, General,” said Han.

Andor turned back to Leia and raised his voice. “We believe that we have the only full technological readout, but the decentralization of the project is a danger. The technology and design of many of the components must be intact, and Galen believed himself to be useful but nonessential.”

Leia set her shoulders. “I’m afraid so. We need people there.”

Enough of this shit. As Rieekan moved away, Han clenched his jaw and walked right up to them.

At last, Leia turned towards him. She could make him stay. With a word, if she wanted. But she regarded him with scarcely less contempt than Andor, her face pale and mouth tight.

Han hadn’t planned his departure, exactly. But if there had been a plan, this wasn’t it. Andor, at least, had withdrawn a few feet and now gave every impression of being deep in conversation with his creepy black droid. It didn’t change anything, at this point.

“Well, your Highness,” Han said roughly, “I guess this is it.”

Leia lifted her chin. “That’s right.”

It didn’t matter. None of it mattered, and nothing clever or charming or convincing came to mind. She’d never admit that she was a real woman, that she—

“Well, don’t get all mushy on me,” he snarled, and it sounded adolescent even to his own ears. “So long, Princess.”

As he stormed away, he heard Leia shout after him. He ignored her. See how she liked it.

The droid said, “Another ignorant fool. Wonderful.”

#anghraine's fic #han solo #leia skywalker organa #cassian andor #/#//#////#jyn erso #kaytoo #star wars #otp: welcome home #han x leia #is not actually my favourite ship but suddenly i saw the light #though the breakthrough only came when i was thinking about my beloved character parallels #and like #jyn might be softened from a harsher more han-ish original intention with everyone that implies #but it does end up meaning that han's flaws are... pretty much jyn's flaws x100 #han dislikes cassian for the same reasons that jyn did only vastly more so #(and without the bonus of attraction. probably)#whereas cassian's response to his 'not here for your revolution i just care about my friends and i'm leaving at any moment' shtick would be #uh. bitter loathing #meanwhile i see j/c as unexpectedly pretty calm #they have occasional bitter fights but mostly try to be gentle with each other #han/leia is pretty much their darkest timeline to jyn #cassian is just indignant at the very idea that han fucking solo is anything like jyn #ANYWAY

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thestarbirdfromtheashes · 7 years

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I might as well admit this.

It's clear I have an addiction problem when it comes to completing starting RebelCaptain fics and constantly writing smut in them and I swear to George Lucas that is not the route I meant to go but Lord help me, I'm obsessed with their $ex life.

Guess what.

I have a new one.

It's only got a chapter and a half, and I'm not happy with it atm, BUT, it's based off my Jyn and Cassian Could Have Survived Conspiracy Theory Meta and is me just giving a shot at what Disney could possibly do to resurrect Jyn and Cassian and give them another story only with lots of kissing and p0rn. But if Disney can kill off a whole cast including the lead characters then I can damn well put p0rn in my story of what Disney could do with them.

Anyway. That's what's new with me.

And no I do not have an idea for a new smut one-shot set in the jungle of Yavin 4 so DON'T ASK MY DIRTY MIND.

#starbird says #my work #RebelCaptain #jyn erso #cassian andor #rogue one conspiracy theories are built on hope #rogue one conspiracy theories #jyn and cassian could have survived!#fanfiction

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thestarbirdfromtheashes · 7 years

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Updated my meta!

Reblogged here!!

#jyn and cassian could have survived conspiracy theory meta

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thestarbirdfromtheashes · 7 years

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Working on my “Jyn and Cassian Survived Scarif” Conspiracy Theory Meta again. Halfway through editing. Hoping to finish up soon.

Really, you guys will read 8 pages of this?!

#rogue one #rebelcaptain #jyn erso #cassian andor #rogue one conspiracy theories #jyn and cassian could have survived!#omg srsly pls read this thing when it's done #it's like my magnum opus of metas

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thestarbirdfromtheashes · 7 years

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Reading about newly released documents on Mata Hari that say she was actually "an inept agent."

Everyone loves spies, Disney. There was really no need to create a character who was the best in the Rebellion and then kill him. Please use Cassian again.

#starbird says #starbird sulks #cassian andor #cassianrebel #rogue one #spies #are fascinating to basically everybody #and I still have my 8-page conspiracy theory meta on how Jyn and Cassian could have survived Scarif #so anytime you're ready Disney I will share it and you can lmk if I'm right #or just take all my ideas #that's fine too #you won't even have to pay me #just let me touch diego #and discover his texture

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thestarbirdfromtheashes · 6 years

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I sometimes think about how much more excited I would be for a Rogue One sequel than anything currently planned. There was so much potential with the team they introduced and the interpersonal dynamics. Chirrut and Bodi especially could be built out a lot. There is just no comparison to Solo and I have no idea why they planned for 3 Solo moves, when they had the sole of sexiness Diego Luna already on tap.

I don’t keep up with SW news tbh, as little of it interests me. I didn’t even know that 3 Solo movies were planned. Makes sense now, with how incredibly open-ended the movie is. (I just assumed they were leaving it that way, because lbr, that’s sort of what they do now.) The R1 team, though, had INCREDIBLE potential, and I’ve mentioned in my survival conspiracy theory that we don’t have anything about spies in any existing canon – Legends or otherwise. What a cool thing, to explore the SW galaxy further through a spy narrative! Why not have a team of spies doing spy stuff for the Rebellion around the galaxy as a few offshoot movies, if not a trilogy? It wouldn’t have been THAT hard to rescue the team or keep them alive, and SW has always been about overcoming impossible odds and The Good Guys Winning and Living (or at least it used to be). Furthermore, that whole “they weren’t in the OT” argument is bullshit, because Hera from “Rebels” was on Hoth and fought at Endor and what about Draven and… ::calms down:: Anyway. Spies are in the background. They’re not SUPPOSED to be known or obvious. I mean…start naming some famous spies you know who were not, you know, famous for being EXECUTED. There is literally no reason the R1 team could not have fought in the background as a special ops team doing weird missions for the Alliance. They didn’t need to fade from history as names no one remembers. Ugh. How ignominious. Yes, it would have been difficult given the character arcs – Cassian’s especially, I think – but it could have been done. It could have worked. Also keep in mind that the logic that It Would Not Have Worked Because of the Character Arcs is inherently flawed because if the story team had intended on It Working, they would have changed the arcs so that It Worked.

/end rant

Oh and yeah. Diego is pretty much the sexiest thing in new SW, I agree. He is Pure Walking S.ex. With more R1 movies, we would get more low-slung holsters and leather pants. And him and Jyn kissing WE’D HAVE TO GET THAT. But NOPE.

#asks #anon #i love Solo y'all but why did it get SO many makeout scenes and we got nothing for RebelCaptain?#it even got a sex reference #and a sex reference deleted scene #i mean i liked all that but REBELCAPTAIN Y'ALL

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thestarbirdfromtheashes · 7 years

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Jyn and Cassian Survived Conspiracy Theory Meta

Updated November 23, 2017

I have put together a number – and I do mean a number – of thoughts regarding the possibility that Jyn and Cassian survived Scarif. As this is a meta, it is just (mostly) all my thoughts and desperate hopes and me probably reading way too much into things. After all, “Rebellions are built on hope,” so I am going to continue to hope we see Jyn and Cassian again in another movie.

Cut for length. Very, very long length. (Seriously, it is exhaustive. I even lay out counterarguments.)

@starwars, I have no problem tagging you here, even though I doubt you’ll ever read this. Just want you to know there are still a lot of die-hard Rogue One fans out there, and we still think about these things. I’m a 20-year veteran of the franchise myself, and I’ll be a fan of it -- and Rogue One in particular -- for life. I put this together because you can still bring back Jyn and Cassian if you want to. I’m a writer myself, and I know nothing is impossible in your own universe. You brought back Darth Maul. You can bring back Jyn and Cassian. Save the dream, Star Wars.

Now that my transparent plea is that’s out of the way, let’s get going.

Original discussion post here.

Note: I used the e-book for citations. They don’t always line up because I was a little hasty with them, but they’re only off by a page. I didn’t figure you guys would be too concerned with that, though.

The Theory I’m Using: Jyn and Cassian survived because of Jyn’s kyber crystal necklace. The argument is stronger for Jyn’s survival than for Cassian’s, but I still have some arguments for his survival that I will also lay out.

The Kyber Crystal’s Dubious Purpose in the Overall Plot

a. At the very beginning of Rogue One, we see Lyra give Jyn her kyber crystal necklace and tell her daughter, “Trust the Force.”

i. This is never brought up again.

b. Chirrut can sense the crystal and says, “The strongest stars have hearts of kyber.”

i. This is never brought up again.

ii. I've always interpreted this as just a comment about Jyn’s character: Jyn is the star, and the kyber crystal is next to her heart, or that kyber crystals are resilient and strong and so is Jyn.

c. Jyn was able to smuggle the crystal into her cell on Wobani, when she wasn’t able to smuggle in anything else.

i. Why would the stormtroopers have let her keep it? They’re ruthless and awful. There is literally no reason to explain this.

d. Jyn holds the crystal at least twice, but no one sees it except the audience.

The Question

Why bother with the kyber crystal at all, if it doesn’t serve a purpose? Jyn is not religious, as far as we know. Jyn doesn’t express a deep connection with her mother and mourn her, thus feeling the need to touch the crystal to connect back with Lyra and comfort Jyn. In fact, Jyn is upset with her mother for sacrificing herself and going back for her husband, and thus, leaving Jyn at a young age. As a storyteller, you cannot bring an item up, make A Big Deal over it, and then not explain it or refer to it. The kyber crystal serves absolutely no discernable purpose in the movie.

The Conspiracy Theory

Articles here and here will get you up to speed on what I am going to write about. I believe, along with many others, that the kyber crystal necklace is what could be used to bring Jyn back. I believe it could also be used to bring Cassian back, should Lucasfilm/Disney decide to be generous. And here’s why: the necklace does nothing in the movie. There is no point. Ergo, we can only believe that it served some other purpose, which is what the Uproxx article says: “…the film has an emergency ‘Jyn lives!’ switch built right into the narrative.”

MY ARGUMENTS (AND COUNTERARGUMENTS)

The Success of the Movie I will admit to knowing little about the effect Rogue One had on the regular Star Wars fandom, other than that it was a huge success, it made a lot of money, and a lot of people say it’s their favorite/"the best" of all the movies. (It was also referred to as such in an early review online, I believe.) There is speculation within the fandom that LFL/Disney misjudged how popular the movie would be, and didn’t or couldn’t predict that. On this, though, I call BS. Really, LFL and Disney in particular, a company that rakes in millions upon millions each year, didn’t forecast if Rogue One became successful, didn’t plan for it, didn’t run ANY numbers or scenarios for what might happen if it did? Disney loves money, so why not capitalize on it if it DID surprise them and hit big? So maybe, is it possible that they thought it could be really popular, and that is why they built in the kyber crystal necklace? Hedging their bets in case people loved the movie? As we know, the earliest draft of the script had Jyn and Cassian surviving, but it was never filmed because LFL/Disney green-lighted Gareth Edwards’s desire to kill everyone off. We also know “Gareth always wanted to bring Jyn home” (I can’t find this article again). Movies have test audiences, so is it possible that the test audience reacted in a way that changed some of the movie to what it is today? Is it possible that the test audiences really liked Jyn and Cassian together, which was something LFL/Disney were unsure of and thought could go either way with resurrecting him or not? This is a weak point in my argument, but I bring it up because of a fact about Return of the Jedi. There is a line from Han Solo that does not make sense. He says about the Falcon, “Yeah, I just got a funny feeling. Like I’m never gonna see her again.” This is because Lando Calrissian was originally supposed to die, and the Falcon was supposed to be destroyed, in Jedi, but test audiences reacted so badly, George Lucas changed it and had him live. Yet the line stayed, and it doesn’t make sense now. Remember, too, that Poe Dameron of the sequel trilogy was supposed to die, but test audiences liked him so much that he stayed – despite no explanation of how he got off Jakku. (Thanks, @rebelle-capitan!)

Regarding the movie’s popularity again: Given that I am deep into the RebelCaptain fandom, I don’t really have any barometer for how popular the ship is outside it. Do people like Cassian and Jyn together? Do they view them as “together”? I don’t really know. Do enough people like them to warrant LFL/Disney resurrecting Cassian, too? Again, don’t know. I know we don’t have a ton of fic out there, so maybe not. Then again, I don’t have any idea of how much is “a ton” of fic for a particular ship, and what determines a ship’s popularity in regards to amount of fic (if this sort of abstract data were even able to be gathered, and were actually valid). This leads me to my next point:

Jyn Erso & Cassian Andor as a Couple (“RebelCaptain”) Yes, LFL/Disney have never explicitly stated that Jyn and Cassian are a ship. They have also not stated that they aren’t. They have absolutely no reason to state either way, and determining romantic involvement is sort of up to one’s own discretion, to a point. Also, making part of the movie officially romantic would probably detract from the overall seriousness, tone, and message of it. Do Jyn and Cassian ever kiss? Do they ever express feelings for one another? No and no (although we can theorize that a kiss was cut from the elevator/turbolift scene). They don’t do any of these things. It could also be argued that they’re not the type of people to express feelings verbally, and as we know from the book, “There wasn’t the time.” Yet these two speak volumes with their faces and actions, and after their argument in the shuttle when fleeing Eadu, when Cassian gathers the army for Jyn and confesses to her, the movie is shot romantically. I’ve seen good, solid metas on Cassian’s actions pointing to him falling in love with Jyn, and there is the joke in the fandom of the army being akin to “his engagement present” (see this amazing meta by @ladytharen). People who are against the ship can say what they like, but the fact remains that the scene in the turbolift is shot incredibly intimately, and the looks on their faces (especially Cassian’s) are breathtaking. Jyn’s arm is over Cassian’s shoulder. I’m no movie expert, but this is one of the most romantic scenes I have ever watched, and certainly the most romantic in all of Star Wars. Why shoot it that way if Jyn and Cassian are not meant to have feelings for one another? Also, that scene appears to be a reshoot -- so it’s important and is there for a reason. A reason that was thought of later, after the original cut of the film. Maybe the romance-that-is-not-officially-a-romance was simply to make the story more interesting; maybe not. Maybe it means something more; maybe not. But if they weren’t meant to be romantic, wouldn’t they have been smiling at one another over their triumph in the elevator, rather than looking regretful in Jyn’s case, adoring in Cassian’s? Another thing: Jyn and Cassian were originally supposed to die apart. Cassian was supposed to die with Kaytoo, and Jyn was supposed to die elsewhere. But they didn’t. They died in each other’s arms, Cassian’s hand sliding up to Jyn’s shoulder, fingers digging in as his eyes close.

Another important point: going from the novelization, when Cassian falls from the data tower, Jyn’s instinct is to jump after him. If they are only “platonic war buddies,” as Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide author Pablo Hidalgo claimed before taking it back to say that “what happened in the elevator is their business,” then I would think Jyn’s instinct would be to mourn the loss of her comrade and keep going for the sake of the mission. But that is not her first thought. In fact, as she watches Cassian firing at Krennic and his Death Troopers,

“Jyn started to call to him, but he cried out louder, ‘Keep going! Keep going!’ She reached a trembling hand toward her pistol. She could die. So could they. She knew she had to climb. The decision was taken from her. [Cassian is struck and falls] She nearly loosed her clutching fingers, nearly followed him into the abyss, but a swell of vertigo shocked her out of her horror and impelled her to cling more tightly to the stacks. Cassian was dead, like so many others.” (257)

WHY? Why write it that way, in the official novelization, which is sanctioned by LFL/Disney and heavily skewed toward Jyn and Cassian having feelings for one another, if they are not to be a romantic couple? Jyn has seen “platonic war buddies” die plenty of times. I’ll bet she has not once wanted to kill herself over them. Hasn’t felt “horror” since she was a kid. I’ve read Rebel Rising, and I believe she steeled herself against all that pretty young. But Cassian though…his “death” gets to her. First she forsakes the mission to reach for her pistol to provide additional fire to protect him, and then she AGAIN considers forsaking the mission when he appears to die. When she sees him alive again at the top of the tower, “He looked like a man who had fallen twelve stories and clawed his way back to the top. He looked as beautiful as anyone Jyn had ever known” (275).

Increased marketing visibility for Cassian See this post. Rogue One has always been Jyn Erso’s story, a story of a strong female protagonist leading a band of unlikely heroes. However, I have noticed that as time has gone on, Cassian has had an increasingly prominent role in the marketing. The official synopsis, dating back to the April 4 DVD/Blu-Ray release, is thus: “From Lucasfilm comes an epic adventure – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In a period of great conflict, a group of unlikely heroes led by Jyn Erso, a daring fugitive, and Cassian Andor, a rebel spy, band together on a desperate mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd.” Cassian didn’t used to be right up there next to Jyn. Now he is. They are both well liked. Maybe it’s just me, but if I read that synopsis without knowing anything more, I sure as heck would expect some sort of romantic subplot.

Felicity Jones It is well-documented on the internet that Felicity Jones has a sequel option clause in her contract. That’s old news. She’s the only cast member who does. I don’t know anything about Hollywood contracts and if a sequel option clause means a bit role or a starring role, but I’m betting not all clauses are created equal. There are theories that she could be in the new Han Solo movie or in a possible upcoming Luke Skywalker movie. Or, I say, a Rogue One prequel or sequel with just her after the kyber crystal saves her life. Or…maybe something even better…. (Or, “it could just be a way to obscure her character’s fate because she does have a two-movie contract, or to use archival footage of her later.” Thanks again, @rebelle-capitan!)

Diego Luna As I said, I don’t know anything about Hollywood contracts, if they’re set in stone or can have addenda, but I do know Felicity is the only cast member to have the sequel clause option in her contract (as stated above). Diego, however, has supposedly been sighted on the Han Solo set, and indeed “fueled speculation” about his involvement. The first link is from May; the second is from January. None of this is new. My point is, I find it interesting that we heard there was a potential for him to be involved in the Han Solo film in January of this year, after Rogue One had only been out a month – but he didn’t have a sequel clause in his contract…? Or was that information just not made available? I don’t know how The Hollywood Reporter works, and if they could have missed something like a sequel clause in Diego’s contract, but they’re the ones who reported on Felicity’s contract. (Or perhaps Disney leaked the information about Felicity’s contract and kept tight-lipped on Diego’s. Who knows?) That first article, from May, also mentions (BS) criticism of Diego’s performance by The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly, clearly comparing Cassian to Han Solo. I don’t know if there’s enough (unfounded) criticism of Diego’s performance for LFL/Disney to not want him back for a Rogue One sequel, or if they just blew it off because other than some nods to the Original Trilogy in superficial aspects alone, Cassian was never supposed to be like Han. I really sort of doubt LFL/Disney would not want Diego Luna back. I mean...really. Also, if Diego is indeed going to be a part of another Star Wars movie that takes place before Rogue One, it means that the character of Cassian was well enough received to warrant additional movie reprisals.

Oh, and Diego also commented on the afterlife in this article from September 2, and mentions the Force.

Also: don’t forget that Diego had a blast with Rogue One, and is a HUGE Star Wars fanboy.

“Welcome Home” and Cassian’s Two Deaths These always make me ache when I watch the film, but I also find them curious. After Cassian gathers an army for Jyn, “‘I’m not used to people sticking around,’ she said, by way of an explanation [for her staring at him]. She didn’t know if Cassian really understood, but he said, ‘Welcome home,’ and she knew she was” (191). In the movie, we get the “orbiting” of Jyn and Cassian around one another (which I believe is also referenced in the book, about Cassian being pulled into Jyn’s orbit), and we also get Cassian’s eyes slipping to Jyn’s lips for half a second (blink and you’ll miss it). Why have him say this, welcome her to a home when she hasn’t had one in years, just to have them both die at the end? It could be argued that just Jyn will live, and come back to the Alliance -- which is home, as Cassian said. That line could be a hint for that. Or, it could be nothing but a RebelCaptain moment (and therefore downright cruel to us shippers given their canon demise).

Cassian falls from the data tower and appears dead, both to Jyn and the audience. Then he “claws his way back up to the top” and saves Jyn’s life. He comes back for her a third time. Then he dies for real. Why, though, did Cassian fall from the data tower and appear dead -- only to die for real minutes later? Was that just cruel storytelling? No. Cassian fell because he had to. As heroine, Jyn had to face off against Krennic, the villain. They needed to have a confrontation. Cassian’s presence would have made no sense. He would have had nothing to do, and therefore, he had to fall and appear dead. The bonus of this is, of course, that he has a dramatic re-entrance, and we get the pure joy of seeing Jyn’s face light up when she sees him again. We also experience that joy ourselves because we like Cassian, and we like Jyn and Cassian together, and we want them to live and be together. It doesn’t happen, which makes the fact that Cassian appeared dead only to reappear alive, all the more tragic. His fall serves two purposes, and that’s pretty good storytelling. (Although I still think having Cassian say “Welcome home” only for them to die is still just plain mean.)

Cassian’s Injuries I have always thought that it was not physically possible for Cassian to climb up the tower after Jyn with the injuries he appears to have. He hit two beams going down and crashed onto metal grating. In the book, it simply states that he falls into an “abyss.” It doesn’t go into detail about him hitting beams on the way down. It talks about how much pain he’s in, but it doesn’t say he knew he was dying or anything like that. Also, it says, “The last time Cassian had hurt so bad” (280, emphasis mine), indicating that Cassian has been hurt this badly before, not that this current injury is the worst. He survived the previous one, so why not this one? I say that unless his wounds were much more serious than the movie or book would have us believe (which I don’t at this point, given that the book says his breathing is “regular” on page 282, then he and Jyn are breathing in time with one another on page 283), he would not have been able to climb the tower after Jyn. Or, again, cruel storytelling by deciding that he could appear dead and his injuries were grievous but he could climb up the tower anyway for his dramatic re-entrance and even more dramatic, emotional death.

Cassian’s and Jyn’s Deaths (and Why We Didn’t Get a Kiss) When the other members of the Rogue One team die, the wording in the book is very clear, even to the point of using the actual word, “died.” However, Cassian’s death is written thus: “When Cassian Andor died, he would be ready, and he would be content.” Now, before that, though, it says, “He stowed thoughts of old missions and thoughts of the future away [‘a woman he might have known and understood’ (280)]; decided to focus on what he could see and hear and smell for the last moments of his life on Scarif.” One could argue that that says enough, that he is going to die then. But people also think they’re going to die and then don’t, so… Cassian’s death is not written from his perspective like all the others’. Yes, Rogue One is Jyn’s story, so their demise is written from her perspective…buuuut we still don’t technically read Cassian’s actual death.

When it’s Jyn’s turn, the world is first emerald, “then a clean, purifying white,” and the narrative goes into all the things Jyn has been as a person. “Soon all those things, too, burned away, and Jyn Erso – finally at peace – became one with the Force” (284). We can look at “burned away” as being literal, as in they burned up in the explosion or superheated water; we could also look at it as imagery if the kyber crystal theory is to be believed. And here’s the crux of the theory: Jyn “becomes one with the Force.” She does not explicitly die. While this is difficult to rationalize given that “becoming one with the Force” is reserved for Jedi and means turning into a Force ghost, what reason would there be for this? It was written that way for a purpose. When Chirrut dies, his last line is, “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me” (261). As we know, Chirrut is not a Jedi, but he is Force sensitive. So, maybe this is a clue in the novelization. (I’m also going to point out here that Qui-Gon Jinn was a Jedi who still had a body even after he died and became one with the Force, and I believe that was supposed to be explained, but I don’t know where and what the explanation was. I’m not familiar with that era.) Wookieepedia also uses the same wording for Jyn: “becoming one with the Force.” On Cassian’s page, it says, “the Death Star destroyed the base, killing them and the other rebels in the area.” Pretty compelling, obviously, and so is the fact that their date of death is listed on each of their pages. Still…that “becoming one with the Force” wording is very intentional, and thus very interesting.

The Kiss: This is just a wildcard, but the turbolift scene was so intimate and so romantic that we all wondered why there was no kiss – especially when you see Jyn’s arm on Cassian’s shoulder. Is it possible there wasn’t a kiss because there is going to be one in the future? This is so weak, but we can all dream. From @rebelle-capitan again: “There’s also some really awkward editing where Cassian is leaning in, there’s a blip, and then he’s leaning back a little and his head is tilted differently. I think this indicates that a kiss was cut.”

How Jyn and Cassian Could Have Survived Check out these articles here and here (referenced above as well). I like the idea that the kyber crystal pressed between Jyn and Cassian could also save Cassian. It could explain why they hugged. But, they could have also hugged just to hug, because they were going to die, and it would have been awkward to just sit there together. Still…she could have leaned her head on his shoulder, or he could have had his arm around her waist, or…anything else. But that hug is very close, very tight, and we see Cassian’s fingers run up Jyn’s back and then grip her hard, digging into her back as he closes his eyes. We also see his eyes open as they die, and I always wondered about this. @sambargestuff says, “Cassian’s eyes widen in surprise (rather than fear) as the light hits them, as if something was happening that he didn’t expect or understand.” She goes on to explain more: “So, when the Death Star fired on Jedha, the city was the blast site and it was like ground zero of a nuclear bomb; immediate destruction/vaporization of everything in that place. The deaths at Saw’s hideout were the result of the shock wave; the crust of the planet lifting off and burying/crushing as it rolled back on people. There was no expansion of light or the beam vaporizing as it spread out over the planet surface. That clearly doesn’t happen on Jedha.

On Scarif, the blast from the Death Star clearly takes off the top of the data tower on its way to the planet surface and ground zero is actually in the ocean. Jyn and Cassian are on the beach, watching the shock wave come towards them from the ocean. So, they should have been engulfed in planetary crust and water (although you could argue the water vaporized, I suppose) and yet they were engulfed by a white light. Cassian’s eyes widen in surprise (rather than fear) as the light hits them, as if something was happening that he didn’t expect or understand.

So, what if that white light was the Force, engulfing our heroes (something mystical about Jyn’s kyber crystal) and keeping them safe, moving them through space and time, making them Force ghosts, whatever? The book doesn’t say Cassian dies, only that he was ready to die. Jyn doesn’t ‘die’ either, she becomes one with the Force and her faith carries Cassian.

Continuity errors or conspiracy to launch Jyn and Cassian on us again in the future? Think about it.”

Another idea, from @grexigone: “So…bearing the Reddit post in mind, should the kyber really protected them, then it’s possible that the so called kyber-protection-bubble was strong enough to stand the heat wave (and the high tide afterwards) which could means that not only the explosion was not *that* strong to kill them, but they might actually survive the said explosion and return not as Force ghost but as an actual living human being.”

The Death Star’s Poor Aim Continuing on this point, that’s another thing I always wondered about: why did the Death Star fire directly on Jedha City and yet miss the Citadel Tower? Didn’t Tarkin say to target it? HOW could it possibly MISS? It fires way out into the ocean, kilometers away from Jyn and Cassian. An easy explanation is that it gives us the heartwrenching ending of Jyn and Cassian clutching each other together as they await death, and honestly, that’s probably it. But what if it was intentional? What if it was so they would have more time together so the magic of the kyber crystal could work so they could come back?

“Her Faith Carried Him with Her” “She believed someone was out there. Maybe it was even true. He did want it to be true. With all his heart, he did. Her faith carried him with her.” (282)

It’s interesting that these lines are all set as their own paragraph, meaning each one has more impact than if they’d been written as one paragraph. We can view “faith” as tying up to “believe” two paragraphs above, but “faith” is a pretty strong word to use, and with this theory, I’m reading faith as Star Wars faith, i.e., the Force, rather than her faith in the plans being received by the Alliance. So...the Force. Jedi. Lightsabers. Kyber crystals. If “Her faith,” meaning the Force and her kyber crystal necklace, “carried him with her,” is it not possible that if Jyn survives via the kyber crystal, Cassian is also “carried” along because he was in her embrace? I have always found this line odd, because to me, it is awkwardly worded, especially given that the narrative is Cassian’s.

Don’t forget, too, that Lyra said, “Trust the Force” when she gave Jyn the necklace, and Chirrut said, “The strongest stars have hearts of kyber.” This is weaker, but just a thought: both times Jyn touches the crystal in the movie are in a quiet moment, but they’re also right before she looks up at Cassian. Maybe it’s a hint, and a piece of her “carrying him with her.”

Jyn’s Potential Force Abilities From @rebelle-capitan: “Okay, so the books indicate that Lyra had an unusually strong connection to nature, which was what made her a) be a geologist and b) made her seek out other Force worshippers. I see this as being Force sensitive, though not strong enough to be a Jedi. Like Chirrut is sensitive, he can feel the Force and use it to ‘see’ (he can feel kyber crystals, which are basically living things), he’s just not strong enough to manipulate it and be a Jedi. Okay, so Lyra is maybe Force sensitive. Several times in the book, Jyn is mentioned as having a peculiar reaction to Chirrut when he’s ‘using’ the Force. She can feel her necklace react to him and when he starts praying, I think on the way to Eadu, she starts getting a massive pressure build up in her head. Now, I don’t know about new canon, but in Legends stuff, the emergence of latent Force sensitivity tends to occur during times of stress and includes pressure in the head, particularly when others are using the Force. Kyber crystals were things that only the Force sensitive could feel, and a Jedi typically communed for hours, even days, before their crystal chose them. Also, Jyn shows multiple instances of latent Force ability, such as shooting a stormtrooper she isn’t looking at, possibly being able to pick up Cassian’s emotions (several times, it’s as if she’s reading his mind, and in the novel she knows he’s following her to Scarif partially for absolution despite the fact that they never discuss it), and she’s able to convince a lot of people to blindly follow her seemingly through sheer force of will. She ‘prays’ at the shield gate, as if actively using the Force to sway things their way. So I’m leaning toward Jyn being Force sensitive. She wasn’t in any sort of a position as a child to be recruited by the Jedi, and around the time she would have been, the Jedi were slaughtered. So she’s been untrained all this time. IMO, her abilities start coming out when she encounters Chirrut. Whether she could use them to survive Scarif, let alone save Cassian as well, I don’t know. But if Maul can survive being chopped in half and falling down a big reactor shaft or whatever, and if the Force can create Anakin out of nothing, why not save two people on a beach from the fallout of the Death Star’s reduced-power blast?”

Lyra was originally a Jedi in an early draft, if you didn’t know. (Thank you to @simishipsrebelcaptain for that info!)

The Original Script and a Comment by Director Gareth Edwards The original script has Jyn and Cassian surviving Scarif, but the writers claimed they couldn’t figure out how to make it work, and director Gareth Edwards wanted to kill the whole crew off anyway. LFL/Disney green-lighted it, so they did. BUT, “Gareth always wanted to bring Jyn home.” I can’t remember where I read that, but I did read it in an article online at some point earlier this year.

Why is There No Book about Cassian? / Why Kill Off the Only Spies We Have in New Canon? I find it very interesting that Cassian is a very complex character deeply embedded in the Rebellion, with “the good guys,” yet he has no backstory besides the comic about how he met K-2SO. Someone on Tumblr mentioned that Cassian is the one character who could easily fit into the tapestry of the Star Wars Universe, as he is embedded in the Rebellion and a spy. (If this was you, please tag yourself and include that post if you can/want to!) Why kill him off when we could have seen more of the Rebellion from an everyman’s point of view? All we have right now are heroes’ POVs and the dead cast of Rogue One. I’m very familiar with the old Expanded Universe, and I don’t recall any spies, or any information about spies. My knowledge is a bit rusty, but nothing sticks out. Spies are something Star Wars hasn’t really delved into. It would be amazing to see more stories about them, and killing off the lead characters in the one spy story Star Wars has effectively kills off any potential for future spy stories – especially since Rogue One was immensely popular. I just don’t think another spy movie (or even book) would be well received, because it’s not Jyn and Cassian, and it’s not the Rogue One crew. (Jyn was also very well received.) There’s also a lot of toys and marketing and, well, MONEY to be made, and Disney, a well-known lover of money, just…ended…it…? What if there is no book on Cassian because he is going to come back later, and everything just hasn’t been decided yet? What if Cassian has another role to play?

The Bothans Died, but the Rebel Spies Didn’t In Return of the Jedi, Mon Mothma says, “Many Bothans died to bring us this information” in regards to the second Death Star. The opening crawl of A New Hope makes no mention of rebel spies dying. Just that rebel spies got the plans. Just sayin’.

The Argument that “They Don’t Appear in A New Hope” This comment is from the Rogue One production team, and it was given as justification for why they killed the entire cast off. It is extremely weak, given that a number of new characters (e.g., General Draven) and ships (e.g., the U-wing) were invented for Rogue One and don’t appear in A New Hope, and old characters like Mon Mothma are even at Yavin Base and still don’t appear in A New Hope. Just putting this in here briefly in case anyone wondered. (I have more on this, but this isn’t the place for it.)

Returning to the Drawing Board This is weak, but here it is anyway: I think it’s maybe possible that once Episode IX is out, LFL/Disney will want to return to the drawing board for things that did well. After all, they love returning to the OT. Disney also always returns to its own hits time after time and keeps marketing that stuff over and over. Maybe Disney left Rogue One with a loophole so that they could return to it if they needed it.

If Darth Maul Can Survive Being Cut in Half… …Jyn and Cassian can survive with a crystal imbued with the Force between them. Granted, Darth Maul’s survival is old canon, but…

Delicity Keeping Cassian/Diego around would also be easy for LFL/Disney, because he’s already a known quantity for Jyn/Felicity. They worked extremely well together and had amazing chemistry, and one could theorize that in the reshoots, Jyn and Cassian were brought closer together. Cassian’s role was also expanded in the reshoots. His character was changed, and new scenes were added (e.g., The Ring of Kafrene). Is it possible that Diego and Felicity had such amazing chemistry together that the production team decided to make something of it? After all, the turbolift scene appears to be a reshoot, and their deaths were reshot, and what purpose did the turbolift scene serve other than to be romantic? Besides the cynical response, which is, “To pack a bigger emotional punch when they died.”

Another point of note is that even though Rogue One is about Jyn, the publicity tour did include Diego. Maybe that’s just how these things go, or I don’t know, some other reason, but...this picture, really? That’s a pretty incredible picture for two actors who are not playing romantic leads. Also, the fact that the fandom did come up with a cute amalgamation of their names, when they are not and have never been a romantic couple like Hollywood couples who get these cute names, speaks volumes to me as tribute to how well they work together and what good friends they became during the shoot.

And that’s it! You’ve reached the end! I know, I can’t believe it, either.

Special thanks go out to @sambargestuff, @rebelle-capitan, @grexigone, @simishipsrebelcaptain, and @jenniferjuni-per for contributing ideas and helping me out with this! Extra thanks to @rebelle-capitan for beta’ing.

“Captivated by dream logic, knowing it was untrue, she thought: If I make it to the light, I can escape forever.” (256)

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