During an interview with GQ, the acclaimed Donnie Yen spoke about some of his most famous and iconic roles, and of course, one of the first subjects brought up was Chirrut Imwe in “Rogue One.” Yen started the conversation by saying that he originally felt like his character in the movie was a little bit cliched and expressed some doubt about portraying the part. Yen added that the first iteration of Chirrut was far more serious, and he stated that it is fine if a movie has a stoic Asian martial arts master, but wondered how they could make the character more unique, which started a conversation with the “Rogue One” creative team.
Yen continued and said that he asked if Chirrut could have a sense of humor, and stated, “You know, and [the filmmakers] liked the idea. And so, we’re kind of adding lines and making this character a little bit more funny. Then I just kind of suggested, wouldn’t be even better if he can’t see, where he can feel the Force instead of not really attached to it, but then somehow, he has a grasp of that universe?” This means that Yen actually had a fair amount of input in crafting his character in “Rogue One,” which is probably why Chirrut’s repeated mantra and personality are among the most enduring aspects of the film.
