

Jyn is the daughter of Galen Erso, a scientist forced by the Empire to develop their Death Star superweapon.

In February 2015, it was reported that Jones was in final talks to star in the film, and her official casting was announced in March 2015.

In January 2015, The Hollywood Reporter stated that numerous actresses, including Tatiana Maslany, Rooney Mara, and Felicity Jones were being tested for the lead role in Rogue One, the first stand-alone Star Wars film. The casting of Felicity Jones in the role of Jyn was announced on March 12, 2015. Knoll envisioned Jyn as a female protagonist who could be an inspiration for his daughters. Hearing about the development of a live-action Star Wars television series, he conceived a story, inspired by a plot point mentioned in the opening crawl of the original 1977 film Star Wars, which would eventually become Rogue One. Industrial Light & Magic chief creative officer John Knoll, credited for the story of Rogue One, told Vanity Fair in 2016 that he conceived the plot of the film while working as a visual effects supervisor on the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
