It's an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan. New things are being introduced into the Star Wars canon on a regular basis, and we're about to get a huge one in the form of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The first spinoff film will be introducing new planets and species, as well as a ton of new human characters. One such character is Jyn Erso, the protagonist of the film. We don't know much about her, but Jyn's on screen father Mads Mikkelsen recently revealed how much of her backstory we can expect to see.
I worked with Jyn at three stages, and three different ages, so there was a little kid that was four, one that was eight, and then there was Felicity. So that was wonderful.
Mads Mikkelsen is appearing in two big blockbusters this fall in the form of Doctor Strange and Rogue One, and the busy actor sat down with GQ Magazine to discuss his experiences on set. When asked what it was like working with the rest of the cast of Rogue One, he answered that he really enjoyed his time with Felicity Jones. Jones plays Jyn Erso, who's father Galen Erso (Mikkelsen) is a scientist who is crucial to the plans of the Empire. As such, the two actors share some scenes together and Mikkelsen reveals that he acts against 3 different Jyn's: a four-year-old, an eight-year-old, and Felicity Jones.
This would imply that we'll get a few flashback's into Jyn's life with her father, and it sounds like they'll be from different phases of her life. It's unknown what these scenes entail, but they will more than likely expand on Jyn's relationship with Galen. It's been wildly theorized that Galen is a scientist who created the Death Star (or at least contributed), which leads to Jyn's recruitment by the Rebellion to steal the Death Star plans. She's got a personal relationship with the guy who made it, after all. Their father-daughter relationship could be the emotional backbone of the film.
Mads Mikkelsen can't really reveal anything at all about Rogue One, but he was able to say that Galen is a man with good intentions that don't necessarily have the same outcome. I think it's a safe guess that Galen developed the Death Star as a peacekeeping force, and the Empire twisted into the deadliest weapon ever built. They're also probably the ones who named it the "Death" Star.
It's a good time to be a Mads Mikkelsen fan; you can see Mads Mikkelsen twice this year! Catch him as the villain Kaecilius in Doctor Strange on November 4, and then again in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on December 16.
