While it was released nearly a year ago, we still haven't stopped dissecting and discussing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The franchise's first standalone film was a game changer for Star Wars, and helped to bridge the gap between the prequel trilogy and A New Hope. The spinoff also introduced a ton of new characters to the mythos, although it was clear from the jump that they probably weren't going to survive their mission. Now it turns out that a beloved character from The Force Unleashed video games was originally set to appear: Jedi Master Rahm Kota.
This news comes to us from filmmaker Marcos Cabota, who recently appeared on the La Fosa del Rancor podcast. In his interview, he revealed that a friend was auditioning for Rogue One back in the day, and his sides included the character Rahm Kota. He said (via Comic Book),
In fact, they were talking about a Jedi, who then did not appear in the movie but did appear somehow ... Rham Kotawas in Rogue One, I can tell you, he was a blind Jedi. And what do we find in Rogue One? A blind user of the Force ... In the script we had from Rogue One, before becoming Rogue One, it was Rahm Kota.
It looks like the blind (and often drunk) Jedi from the beloved video game franchise almost made it onto the silver screen, before the filmmakers pivoted and crafted a brand new character. But if Rham Kota ended up making it into the standalone films, then the hardcore Star Wars fandom would have probably flipped their lids.
The Force Unleashed was a video game series revolving around Darth Vader's secret apprentice, set in the time period between the prequels and the original trilogy. Starkiller (the clone) ends up feeling conflicted about his villainous role in the galaxy, and eventually teams up with a drunken Rahm Kota. Kota is one of the few Jedi to survive Order 66, and is a major figure in both the original game and its sequel. Although blind, he's still able to use The Force to battle evil throughout the course of the games.
If you saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, this may sound a bit familiar. Because the standalone film had its own blind Force sensitive character in the form of Donnie Yen's Chirrut Îmwe. While not a Jedi, he believed in The Force and is able to hold his own in battle, despite his impairment. Chirrut Îmwe is definitely one of the fan favorites of Rogue One, so it's probably best that the folks over at Disney decided to craft a new character. Because while seeing Rahm Kota on the silver screen would have been awesome, it had the potential to distract the fandom from embracing all the new characters.
The next trip to the galaxy far, far away will be Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi on December 15th, 2017. In the meantime check out our 2017 release list to plan your final trips to the movies before the New Year.
