Star Wars: Rogue One Character was Originally Double Agent Working for the Empire


There's probably nothing about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that fans would want to change. However, it looks like there was one thing that needed to be fixed about the film. It has just been revealed that one of the key characters was supposed to be a double agent working for the Empire and this could have given the movie an entirely different storyline.

Rogue One writers Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz recently took part in IGN's WHF Theater Event where they confirmed that Cassian Andor was initially written as a double agent secretly working for the Empire. Interestingly, Diego Luna's character supposedly decided to do this because of Saw Gerrera.

"For a long time, he was working for the Empire," Weitz said. "I think this was a rationale that I added in, was that he had lost people who had been killed by Saw Gererra. And all he wanted from the Empire was the go-ahead and the ability to kill Saw Gererra, rather than Galen Erso. And that kind of transmogrified along the lines - post-me and Gary - into a Rebel intelligence officer who had done terrible things. And here, he chooses not to."

Whitta added, "He was a rebel soldier who was secretly working for Krennic. But then, as he grew closer to Jyn and realized that the Empire had built this weapon, he's like 'I never signed up for this! I didn't sign up for killing planets!' He has a change of heart, and flips to the Rebel side. But that's after he's exposed as a spy. And at that point, in the third act, he kinda has to win Jyn's trust back."

This could have been a shocking turn in Rogue One. Luckily, the writers decided to change things for Cassian.

"That was all fun, that was all interesting. I think they actually shot some of that stuff early on. But I think this version ended up being more nuanced and more interesting," Whitta concluded.

We're actually relieved that the writers decided about the whole idea. Although it would have made things a little more interesting, we're happy with how Cassian's story turned out in Rogue One.

Luna is set to return as Cassian in the upcoming Rogue One prequel series that will air on Disney+ next year.

Related: Here's How Ray Park was Brought Back as Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7

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