When Rogue One was officially announced we pondered what the title meant as all the Star Wars movie names have some kind of thematic expression of what the movie is about.
A New Hope, for instance, is a reference to Luke Skywalker being the one that could perhaps bring down the Empire.
Is it a military call sign?
Rogue One is indeed a military call sign. It refers to the U-Xwing that Jyn's crew rides out on. Bohdi Rook so names it.
The call sign actually echoes Luke Skywalker’s Rogue Squadron which was first shown in The Empire Strikes Back. Luke leads Rogue Squadron during the Battle of Hoth. In the wider Star Wars universe, and featured in many novels.
Wedge Antilles featured heavily as the leader of the squad which proved popular and so the legacy of the name has stayed with Star Wars fans.
So at first glance, Rogue One is a partial reference to the past legacy of Star Wars and perhaps more so, the Squadron’s attitude of bravery and fearlessness.
Is the title a reference to Jyn Erso?
The word rogue can be used to describe someone as being a scoundrel or a rascal or a dishonest person or a rebel or a thing out of place from the expected system.
We know that Jyn Erso has been under arrest (Hey! Jyn, rebels!) and is only granted her freedom by the Rebel Alliance so that she can do her mission of stealing the Death Star plans.
This concept is very similar to the famous war movie, The Dirty Dozen
, where the rogues of that movie were sent on a suicide mission in return for their freedom (this is why we think a lot of the characters will die during the movie).
So the meaning of Rogue One is that it is a reference to the character of Jyn Erso.
Is it a description of the movie's place in the franchise?
“…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?”
In reality, we think the movie's title is deliberately meant to evoke all three meanings. In that sense, it's really clever – it says nothing, yet everything about the movie.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Paul Rose Jr has worked as TV News Producer, Forensic Analyst, and Train Conductor, among many other things. He’s the former TV Editor for InfuzeMag and owns more books, DVDs, and comics than most people have seen in their lifetimes. When he’s not writing or editing on Wealth of Geeks, he exercises his creative muscle writing screenplays and acting in film and television in Los Angeles, CA.