Star Wars: Forest Whitaker Teases Saw Gerrera Embraces the Dark Side of the Force

Of the many compelling elements of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, one of the most fascinating was the depiction of characters who were neither Jedi nor Sith, but who were only slightly attuned to the ways of the Force. Forest Whitaker starred as Saw Gerrera in the film, a character whose devotion to the Rebellion sometimes took deadly turns. The actor recently confirmed that, while he supported the Rebel Alliance, his beliefs led towards to the darker corners of the Force.

“I liked playing that character. He’s amazing because in this movie, the director put more gray into Star Wars stories than normal,” Whitaker shared with People. “He’s a character who was fighting against oppression and those dark forces that were trying to harm humanity, but yet decided to take on some of their practices in order to be able to win, because he thought the final result was more important. That’s a big question, by any means necessary, that we have to look at and see, what is necessary?”

Saw wasn’t the only character to be only slightly attuned to the Force, with Donnie Yen’s Chirrut Îmwe also being familiar with teachings of the Jedi Order without actually being a master. The blind Chirrut regularly used the Force to engage in hand-to-hand combat, yet viewers didn’t get to see Saw fully tap into those dark teachings mentioned by Whitaker.

Whitaker continued, “I love that concept of people looking inside themselves — as they say, the Force being with you — or being able to find your eternal power and allowing it to manifest in the world, and recognize the miraculous is possible at any moment.”

The actor not only performed the character in Rogue One, but also lent his vocal talents to the character’s portrayal in Star Wars Rebels. In that series, the character also demonstrated his devotion to the Rebel Alliance, even though he ultimately turned on the series’ hero Ezra to accomplish an objective for the Rebellion that delved deeper into those darker deeds.

Saw debuted in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, though that series didn’t fully depict the lengths he was willing to go and darkness he was willing to embrace, with the events of that war and growing ruthlessness of the Galactic Empire seemingly pushing him to a breaking point.

With Star Wars: The Clone Wars getting a final season next year, we look forward to another possible appearance from Saw.

What do you think about Whitaker’s remarks? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

[H/T PeopleTV]