Last year may have been all about Rey and how amazing of a character she was (or if you’re Max Landis, how much of a Mary Sue she was). While it’s easy for some fans to dismiss the lead of this year’s Star Wars film, Jyn Erso, as just some other female character, based on the trailers we’ve had for the film, she’s anything but. Unlike Rey, she’s serious, cynical, and jaded — not exactly your Luke Skywalker equivalent.

Speaking with Screen Rant, actress Felicity Jones, who portrays Jyn Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, talks a bit about where Jyn is coming from, and how that affects her relationship with the rest of the gang:

“Someone who is very much finding her place in the galaxy. I always like to say because it just sounds really cool. [Laughs] Just to say ‘in the galaxy.’ And she joins – they’re a bit of a motley crew. They’ve all had difficult experiences. Then they come together, and they find something in a shared mission… that was pretty exciting to shoot.”

In a separate interview with THR, Jones discussed the methods she used to find that character. Before the shoot, Jones created a scrapbook, and in the process, she found her true inspiration in Florence Welch, a British artist who fronts the band Florence+ the Machine, and used her movements as inspiration for Jyn.

“So much of Jyn is movement. It became a very important part of finding her. She walks almost a bit like a caged animal. Her fight sequences become like dances.”

Then, of course, comes the big question of what it was like after realizing she was being cast in a freaking Star Wars movie. First came the realization that she’d have to be in tip-top shape followed by the realization that she couldn’t tell a soul.

“I have to do a hell of a lot of fitness and fight training.

[…]

“I cannot reveal anything and it’s so, so difficult to do. Especially when you see hardcore fans who are friends and family and you can just see their eyes lighting up. Obviously when you’re excited about something, you want to talk about it, and you kind of have to do the opposite. But I was very keen to keep hold of my job (laughs), so I didn’t want to spill the beans to anyone.”

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on December 16, 2016.

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SOURCE: THR, Screen Rant