| Jyn Erso | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars character | |
.jpg) Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso inRogue One | |
| First appearance | Catalyst (2016) |
| Created by | John Knoll |
| Portrayed by | Other:
|
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Alias |
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| Nickname | "Stardust" (by her father) |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Soldier |
| Affiliation | Rebel Alliance |
| Family |
|
| Homeworld | Vallt |
Jyn Erso is a fictional character in theStar Wars franchise, portrayed by English actressFelicity Jones as the mainprotagonist in the 2016 filmRogue One: A Star Wars Story. Jyn aids theRebel Alliance in a desperate attempt to steal the plans to theDeath Star, a weapon of theGalactic Empire with enough power to destroy an entire planet. The character was introduced as a child in the 2016 prequel novelCatalyst byJames Luceno, and would later appear in the 2017 novelStar Wars: Rebel Rising byBeth Revis, once again as the protagonist, detailing her time as a teenager and induction into her family friend and mentorSaw Gerrera'sPartisan offshoot-sect of theRebel Alliance, as well as her independent efforts in both combating and evading the forces of the Empire.
Industrial Light & Magicchief creative officerJohn Knoll, credited for the story ofRogue One, toldVanity Fair in 2016 that he conceived the plot of the film while working as avisual effects supervisor on the 2005 filmStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Hearing about the development of a live-actionStar Wars television series, he conceived a story, inspired by a plot point mentioned in theopening crawl of the original 1977 filmStar Wars, which would eventually becomeRogue One. Knoll envisioned Jyn as a female protagonist who could be an inspiration for his daughters.[2]
In January 2015,The Hollywood Reporter stated that numerous actresses, includingTatiana Maslany,Rooney Mara, andFelicity Jones were being tested for the lead role inRogue One, the first stand-aloneStar Wars film.[3] In February 2015, it was reported that Jones was in final talks to star in the film,[4] and her official casting was announced on March 12, 2015.[5]
Jyn is the daughter ofGalen Erso, a scientist forced by the Empire to develop their Death Star superweapon. Young Jyn escapes when Galen is captured and his wifeLyra is killed by Imperial forces.[6][7] She grows up under the watch of "extremist militant"Saw Gerrera, who also mentors and trains her in military combat.[7][8]IGN's Eric Goldman wrote that she has "put up a brash, stern wall to protect herself, thanks to a traumatic childhood".[9] Chris Barsanti ofPopMatters added that Jyn's childhood tragedy leaves her "just cynical and bereft enough to make her hold out a respectable length of time before agreeing to assist the Rebel Alliance".[10] Writing forVanity Fair, Hilary Busis suggested that with Jyn's backstory, the film was drawing on "theStar Wars franchise's greatest natural resource:daddy issues".[11]
The Daily Telegraph described Jyn as "a roguish, Han Solo-style heroine",[12] andTodd McCarthy ofThe Hollywood Reporter called the character "a female warrior driven by destiny to take on the mightiest power in the galaxy".[13] Chris Nashawaty ofEntertainment Weekly described Jyn as a "fierce fighter" and "rallying leader".[14]A. O. Scott wrote inThe New York Times that inRogue One, "Jyn's idealisticJedi-ish tendencies are at first checked by a hint ofBogart-esque cynicism. She's suspicious of the rebels and contemptuous of the Empire, and has complicated feelings about Saw Gerrera".[8]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone called Jyn "a born rebel",[15] andRichard Brody ofThe New Yorker noted that "though Jyn had never exhibited any spirit of revolt", coming together with Gerrera and the rebels results in "Jyn's transition from an apolitical survivor to an active rebel".[6]
Jyn is introduced as a child in the prequel novelCatalyst: A Rogue One Novel byJames Luceno, published in November 2016. In the novel, Republic Lieutenant CommanderOrson Krennic saves his old friend Galen Erso and his family from a coup, and enlists the scientist to develop energy technology usingkyber crystals that would ostensibly be applied to altruistic purposes. The research is actually necessary for the successful construction ofEmperor Palpatine's secret superweapon, the Death Star. Galen and his wife Lyra begin to suspect Krennic's ulterior motives, and plot to free themselves and their daughter Jyn from his grasp.[16][17]
Jyn appears as the main character in the novelRebel Rising byBeth Revis. This novel takes place between the prologue and main narrative ofRogue One. She also appears in thenovelization ofRogue One by Alexander Freed.[18] Saw Gerrera appears with an eleven-year-old Jyn Erso in the novelization of the filmSolo: A Star Wars Story.[19]
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Rogue One was released in December 2016, with Felicity Jones in the role of Jyn. In the film, scientist Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) is pressed into the service of the Empire against his will. When he is captured and his wife Lyra (Valene Kane) is killed, their young daughter Jyn escapes and hides in the bunker. She is later rescued by a Rebel extremist namedSaw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) who cared for her after Galen's capture.
Fifteen years later,[a] Jyn is being held in Imperial custody on several criminal charges. The Rebel Alliance frees her upon intercepting a prisoner transport on the planet Wobani. They seek her help in contacting Saw Gerrera and persuading him to turn over information he has received about a powerful new weapon being developed by the Empire. Accompanied by Rebel intelligence operativeCassian Andor (Diego Luna) and the reprogrammed Imperial enforcerdroidK-2SO (Alan Tudyk), Jyn travels to the desert moonJedha and reconnects with Saw, who shows her a holographic message that Galen recorded for her. Galen explains that he had secretly built into the Imperial superweapon, called the Death Star, a fatal flaw that can be exploited to destroy it. Jyn and her comrades, joined by the defecting Imperial pilot who brought the message,Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), and a pair of local warriors, flee as the Empire's Death Star, an armored battle station the size of a small moon, destroys Jedha City.
They track Galen to his research facility onEadu, where he and Jyn are briefly reunited just before he dies in a Rebel attack. Galvanized, Jyn proposes a mission to steal the schematics for the Death Star, stored on the planetScarif, but the council of Rebel leaders does not support it. Nevertheless, Jyn and a team of Rebel volunteers sneak away under the callsign "Rogue One" to infiltrate the Imperial facility on Scarif. She and Andor succeed in stealing and transmitting the plans, but the Death Star fires on the planet near the base. Jyn and Cassian embrace each other as they are engulfed by a fireball and killed.
Chris Barsanti ofPopMatters noted that "Jyn's backstory also helps answer a question that's plagued fans ever since 1977: why did the Empire spend all that time and all those resources building a moon-sized space station only to leave one rather glaring and easily exploited vulnerability?"[10]
Jyn is also featured inStar Wars Forces of Destiny, an animated web series focusing on the franchise's heroines includingPrincess Leia andAhsoka Tano.[20] In the episode "The Stranger", Jyn witnesses a little girl's cat being confiscated bystormtroopers. Jyn intervenes, snatching the pet and leading the pursuing stormtroopers to fall into drain, and then returns the cat to the girl. Jyn reappears in the series in the episode, "Accidental Allies," where she encountersSabine Wren fromStar Wars Rebels. During the episode, Jyn picks up a holo-map stolen by Sabine that contains crucial intelligence, but is forced to flee when stormtroopers mistake Jyn as the actual thief. When Sabine realizes she has lost the map, she helps Jyn evade the stormtroopers and shares her own experience of working alone to persuade Jyn to give her the map. After some reflection, Jyn agrees and the women part ways. Jyn reappears once more in the episode "Jyn's Trade", where she helps a young thief learn a valuable life lesson. She was voiced byFelicity Jones in the first season and Helen Sadler in the second season.[21]
Jyn is a playable character in the 2015actionshooter video gameStar Wars Battlefront, as part of the 2016downloadable content (DLC)Rogue One: Scarifexpansion pack.[22] She is voiced by Helen Sadler.[23] Jyn also appears as a character in thestrategy video gameStar Wars: Force Arena.[24]
A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times wrote, "Felicity Jones is a fine addition to theStar Wars tradition of tough-minded, quick-thinking heroines."[8]Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian noted that "Jones is in the tousled-yet-game tradition ofStar Wars female leads, likeCarrie Fisher orDaisy Ridley: well-born but determined, with a sense of purpose befitting an heiress, if not a princess."[25] Peter Travers ofRolling Stone called Jones "smashing" and her Jyn "a female warrior to rank with the great ones",[15] and Justin Chang of theLos Angeles Times praised Jones for her "sympathetic ferocity" in the role.[7] IndieWire's David Ehrlich compared Jyn toRey (Ridley) fromThe Force Awakens, and described her as "indistinguishable from the bland and plucky heroine ofEpisode VII save for her privileged disillusionment".[26]
Chris Nashawaty ofEntertainment Weekly called Jyn "the kind role model any moviegoing parent would want to expose their daughters (and sons) to", adding that "Jones plays her with a fiery warmth that turns her into more than just a pawn piece going through the larger storytelling paces. She makes her human."[14] Ann Hornaday ofThe Washington Post wrote that "Jones presents a convincing, if monotonously self-serious, heroine", noting the actress' physical resemblance to Ridley and speculating that their characters could be related.[27]The Hollywood Reporter's Graeme McMillan criticized the character for her passive role in the film's plot, calling her "a void where the movie's heart should live". McMillan speculated that the character was a possible "casualty" ofRogue One's reshoots.[28]
