Black Leader

‘I do not fear the dark side’

then another kid goes

‘YOU SHOULD’

A week ago I finally got to watch Rogue One and really, really loved it. Some elements were a bit odd (CG Tarkin cool but scary, tentacle monster very scary but the film over all was excellent being a nice flowing war film with great characters. One of said characters I was most anticipating was Chirrut Imwe played by Donnie Yen.

This dude is a bad ass in all senses of the words. He is a great brand new character for the Star Wars universe and one of my fav characters in essentially a film void of characters like Jedi involved with the Force or the Skywalker saga. Chirrut provides a unique look at the Force from the perspective of a non Jedi yet someone who clearly has a great faith in the Force. It’s heavily implied this man is capable of low level force abilities in the story and I don’t think the Force was completely abesent of the film becauseo f Chirrut.

But here’s the thing, as a fan of Star Wars I was wondering just what would make Chirrut different and make him stand out from past characters. Because he is not the first blind character or blind character connected to the Force in the franchise. Notably in the original intended “inbetween” saga, The Force Unleashed, we had a character named Rahm Kota, a former Jedi general who at the start of game 1 is blinded from a lightsaber strike by protagonist Starkiller.

Most recently a character very similar to Kota appears in the canonical Star Wars Rebels. This is Kanan Jarrus, another Jedi survivor of Order 66, who is blinded from a lightsaber strike by Darth Maul. Also notedly like Kota and Chirrut he is a Force user who is part of the Rebel Alliance. So by the time Chirrut comes along I already have an impression of blind characters and blind force connected characters in the Franchise.

What did make Chirrut stand out though? What works in his favor is just why the character is blind - this was Donnie Yen’s choosing. He, like most of the cast, picked a trait that would be a part of their characters permitted by director Gareth Edwards. Yen has portrayed many a warrior monk and martial artist in film (his credits are numerous to put it lightly) so he needed Chirrut to be distinguished from his other roles. The solution was Chirrut in fact would be blind and his blindness would enforce his faith in the Force.

To refresh, Chirrut in fact was born on the moon of Jedha and a monk who guarded a temple which was connected to the Jedi. According to an additional guidebook (A DK Rogue One information booklet) Chirrut was part of an Order quite as old as the Jedi which held great faith in the Force similar to the Jedi (named The Whills). Chirrut strongly believes in the Force despite ridicule from other characters (even from best friend Baze Malbus) that they are unfounded. Throughout the film he is constantly reciting the mantra “I am one with the Force, the Force is with me” and displays noted abilities such as when he famously fights a squadron of Stormtroopers in the City of Jedha.

Unlike both Kota and Kanan however his blindness fueled his faith whereas both Jedi initially believed their connection to the Force was lost due to their blindness. It was the loss of sight that gave Chirrut a differing perspective and an almost greater connection with the Force which in effect became his sight and he demonstrates this many times. Such as when questioning Jyn on if she could truly trust Cassian Andor and when in the climactic final battle sensing the approach of the Imperial Walkers.

You met K-2? Charming. He tends to say whatevercomes into his circuits. It’s a by-product of the reprogram.