Star Wars novel confirms your theory about Rogue One lead Jyn Erso

Lucasfilm and its assorted licensed distributors revealed a whole gaggle of this holiday season’s merchandise this week, and that means we’ve also got synopses for a slew of new Star Wars books.

One of those books is Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, which is set prior to the upcoming film and concerns a previous connection between the characters played by Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn. The novel will hit stores a month before Rogue One hits theaters, but if you’re trying to stay completely detail-free for the movie, turn back now.

Also, why did you click through to this post in the first place?

We already know that Mikkelsen will be playing Galen Erso, the father of Jones’ Jyn Erso and an expert scientist. From that, lots of folks theorized that we couldn’t have a scientist in a movie primarily concerned with the construction of the Death Star without that scientist having a hand in designing it in some way. Catalyst would seem to prove them right, according to publisher Del Rey’s description, as reported on Stitch Kingdom.

Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic is the villain at the heart of Rogue One, and it seems that at some point during Jyn’s childhood her family became caught up in his evil ambitions.

War is tearing the galaxy apart. For years the Republic and the Separatists have battled across the stars, each building more and more deadly technology in an attempt to win the war. As a member of Chancellor Palpatine’s top secret Death Star project, Orson Krennic is determined to develop a superweapon before their enemies can. And an old friend of Krennic’s, the brilliant scientist Galen Erso, could be the key.

Galen’s energy-focused research has captured the attention of both Krennic and his foes, making the scientist a crucial pawn in the galactic conflict. But after Krennic rescues Galen, his wife, Lyra, and their young daughter, Jyn, from Separatist kidnappers, the Erso family is deeply in Krennic’s debt. Krennic then offers Galen an extraordinary opportunity: to continue his scientific studies with every resource put utterly at his disposal. While Galen and Lyra believe that his energy research will be used purely in altruistic ways, Krennic has other plans that will finally make the Death Star a reality. Trapped in their benefactor’s tightening grasp, the Ersos must untangle Krennic’s web of deception to save themselves and the galaxy itself.

While the book’s description asks whether the Ersos will be able to escape his control, we already know two things about how it turns out from Rogue One’s trailers. For one: Jyn Erso was on her own in the galaxy at the age of 15. For another: The Death Star definitely did become a massive super-weapon.

Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel is written by veteran Star Wars novelist James Luceno and will be released on Nov. 15.

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