Gareth Edwards Reveals What ‘ROGUE ONE’ Means

If you're anything like me, you've spent countless nights tossing and turning, unable to sleep a wink because you had no idea what Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's title was referring to. Was it referring to Felicity Jones' character, Jyn Erso? She certainly seems roguish. Maybe it's that, but it's also a reference to the iconic military call sign. Or, hey, maybe it's a sly reference to the fact that this Star Wars film will be the first to step away from the ongoing Skywalker family saga.

Turns out, it's all three. Take it away, new-interview-with-Edwards-over-at-Empire:

“What does it mean? 'Rogue One’ is a military call sign to some extent, but this is the first film that's gone off-piste and is not part of the saga – or the Anakin story – so it’s the 'rogue' one, you know?”

“It's kind of describing (Jyn Erso) as well in a similar way. It has (all) these split, multiple meanings that made it feel like the right choice."

So there you have it. The titular Rogue One has a triple-meaning: it's the roguish Jyn Erso, it's a military call sign (Empire says it's a nod to "Red Squadron during the Battle of Yavin", but I think the term's probably been used elsewhere), and it's a reference to the roguishness of Rogue One itself.

With that settled, you can all sleep easy now, secure in the knowledge that you understand the title of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which arrives on December 16th.