Donnie Yen Says There's a Huge Book of Backstory for His Rogue One Character

12/15/2016 03:38 pm EST

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story mostly consists of characters much less known in the Star Wars universe, at least when compared to other stars of the series like Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Han Solo. Still, that doesn't mean the history doesn't exist. It just means fans are unaware of it.

That extends to Donnie Yen's Chirrut Imwe. Yen was asked about the backstory of his character's devout beliefs in the force (via ScreenRant), and Yen acknowledged there's quite a bit of that backstory that never made it into the film.

"That's a backstory actually, we did a lot of back and forth discussions and research between actors, producers, and directors so that is something, It's probably (motions a large book) this thick of materials and research, but I'm not allowed to talk about it." That backstory also includes how the character came to be blind, and when asked for further details, he again said: "That is also backstory, and I'm not allowed to talk about it (laughs)."

Star Wars sure does love its secrets.

While his character is blind, it doesn't keep him from holding his own in combat. The martial arts style seen in Rogue One is actually one created by Yen, a process he undergoes for every role, as he told a young Star Wars fan named Miriam during the press tour.

"I've done a lot of martial arts, Miriam. I was nine years old when I started martial arts, and I studied many different styles of martial arts. Every movie, I would create a unique martial arts for each movie. For example, in Rogue One, my character Chirrut, I designed a bit of martial arts specifically for Star Wars."

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers.

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