‘Rogue One’ EP John Knoll Explains How Jyn Erso Got Her Name

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story executive producer John Knoll has made numerous contributions to the Star Wars franchise, including serving as a member of the visual effects team on several related projects. However, in addition to pitching the concept for Rogue One to Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy, Knoll also provided the name for the films heroine, Jyn Erso. Now, in an interview with Yahoo, Knoll explains how he came up with the character’s name and that there was more than one source.

Knoll explained why he felt is was important for the film to feature a female heroine.

“I wanted a really strong, smart, and active female character as the lead of this movie. I have three daughters, and they were all growing up, and they were all young when I was working on the prequels. I felt like Star Wars could really use another good strong smart and decisive female character.”

Knoll revealed that the name Jyn Erso is derived from a number of his family members.

“My youngest daughter is Jane, and my wife is Jen, so [Jyn] is sort of mashup of them. And growing up my aunt was Aunt Ginny, [short] for Virginia, so there’s a little bit of that, too. It’s a mix up of a lot of my favorite women in my life.”

It is somewhat amusing that while some fans have speculated on the origins of the name Jyn Erso, it turns out the answer is as as simple as it being a nod to Knoll’s close family members.

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.

Directed by Gareth Edwards, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is now playing in theaters!

Source: Yahoo