re: First ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ Photo Reveals New Cast Members - Update

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Just a heads up, there are potential SPOILERS for Star Wars: Rogue One beyond this point.

When we got a face-full of the Rogue One cast, a number of things sprang to mind. One that struck many people was the similarity in appearance between Diego Luna and a small, but important character from Star Wars lore, Biggs Darklighter. This tweet has been making the rounds and offers a side-by-side comparison:

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You have to admit, between the sweet, late 1970s hairstyle, cheekbones, and rockin’ mustache, there is at least a cursory surface resemblance between Luna’s Rogue One style and that of Luke’s childhood friend. While that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, as Biggs surely wasn’t the only one rocking this look, it’s enough to make you think.

Though he only has small role in the first movie, and dies as the battle of Yavin 4 at the end, he has a rich backstory. A childhood friend of Luke Skywalker—Biggs was a bit older and the young future Jedi looked up to him with a bit of hero worship—the character originally had more scenes. There were a couple cut out of A New Hope, as well as some that appear in the novelization, which was based on the earlier script.


The timeline also certainly fits. Rogue One is set before the events of A New Hope and revolves around the theft of the plans for the first Death Star. We know that Biggs left Tatooine before Episode IV and took up with the Rebels, and as a young, enthusiastic, daring recruit, as well as a skilled pilot, it’s entirely plausible to imagine that he would volunteer for such a dangerous mission as this.

Biggs has always been one of those characters you look at and know that there is a much larger story than you see on screen. These Story films appear to be Lucasfilm’s attempt to expand the universe and explore areas of that far, far away galaxy that don’t necessarily fit into the main narrative thrust of the Episode films. Perhaps Rogue One will use the opportunity to explore a character who is familiar to fans, but not one we know a ton about. His connection to Luke would certainly provide a link to larger franchise, and show how these side stories impact the greater saga.

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