Summary

• Saw Gerrera played a pivotal role in the liberation of Onderon from the Separatists during the Clone Wars.
• Forest Whitaker portrayed Saw Gerrera in live-action beginning with Rogue One, showing his extreme tactics as the leader of the Partisans.
• Saw Gerrera has appeared in various Star Wars media beyond animation and live-action, showcasing his legacy and impact on the galaxy during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign.

Saw Gerrera has become one of Star Wars’ most iconic and darkly captivating characters in the interim period between the prequel and original trilogies. While he came to notoriety during the period known as the Dark Times, Saw Gerrera’s origins became as early as the Clone Wars. While called many different names throughout his career, Saw Gerreras had always been the living embodiment of rebellion, no matter the cost.

A creation of George Lucas who first had the character in mind for his canceled live-action television series Star Wars: Underworld, Saw Gerrera eventually made his way into the canon first through animation with The Clone Wars. However, Gerrerra has since made several appearances in several different projects and mediums, though most notably in live-action. To that end, here’s Saw Gerrera’s full Star Wars history and origins explained, and where he’s expected to show up next.

Saw Gerrera First Appeared In Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Fighting To Free Onderon From The Separatists

Having made his very first appearance in The Clone Wars season 5, Saw Gerrera was a primary freedom fighter on the planet Onderon alongside his sister Steela, seeking to liberate their homeworld from the Separatists after their king was deposed and replaced by a ruler friendly with the CIS. Unable to enter the conflict directly, the Republic instead sent Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Captain Rex to help train the freedom fighters in the best forms of combat against the Separatists’ droid armies. While the campaign was ultimately successful, it did result in Steela’s tragic death.

In this dynamic Clone Wars arc that served as his very first story in the Star Wars canon, Saw Gerrera was voiced by actor Andrew Kishino. Kishino would later return to voice Gerrera in the spin-off series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, set in the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars after the Empire replaced the Republic, resulting in Onderon’s continued oppression. As such, the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign is when Saw’s legacy truly began in the Star Wars canon.

Forest Whitaker Plays Saw Gerrera In Live-Action

Leader of the Partisans

Despite his dynamic Clone Wars origins, Saw Gerrera is much better known for his later live-action appearance in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star WarsStory. Played by legendary actor Forrest Whitaker, Rogue One sees Saw at the end of his long career, the paranoid leader of the resistance group known as the Partisans who are often identified as terrorists due to their aggressive and brutal tactics. Even the Rebel Alliance came to view Saw and his forces as extremists, resulting in Saw eventually cutting ties with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma.

That being said, Saw Gerera’s extremism was the direct result of his refusal to give up “The Dream”: a free galaxy and the end of Imperial oppression, no matter what had to be done, or who needed to be sacrificed along the way to get it. As seen in Rogue One, Saw ultimately lost his life due to the Death Star’s single-reactor test on the holy world of Jedha, just before the events of A New Hope. However, Saw Gerrera would make several more Star Wars appearances between his Clone Wars origins and the events just before his death in Rogue One.

All Of Saw Gerrera’s Other Star Wars Appearances Explained

Movies, Shows, Books, Comics, and Games

Beyond Rogue One, Clone Wars, and Bad Batch, Saw Gerrera has made several other appearances in the Star Wars canon during the Dark Times. Forest Whitaker went on to voice Gerrera with a return to animation in Star Wars Rebels. Making guest appearances alongside the crew of The Ghost, the Spectres had to contend with Gerrera’s darker tactics and extremism just before the events of Rogue One. Whitaker also voiced Saw in EA’s Jedi: Fallen Order, with the Jedi survivor Cal Kestis joining the Partisans’ efforts on Kashyyyk. Cal Kestis went on to work with Saw on other missions as well.

Gerrera has also been featured in several canonical books, most notably James Luceno’s Rogue One prequel novel Catalyst and Beth Revis’ Rebel Rising, and canonical comics from Marvel about Jyn Erso whom Saw raised and trained (before ultimately abandoning her). Gerrera’s posthumous legacy was also revealed in comics such 2015’s Star Wars from Marvel and the Battlefront II novel Inferno Squad, revealing the fates of the surviving Partisans, having renamed themselves The Dreamers.

Saw Gerrera’s most recent appearance was in animation with The Bad Batch season 2 in 2023. However, Gerrera’s most recent live-action appearance was in 2022’s Andor, Star Wars’ dynamic Rogue One prequel series. Still played by Forest Whitaker, Saw Gerrera displayed little interest in Luthen Rael’s proposals to unify with other cells, claiming that all others were lost, not having what it takes to make “The Dream” a reality. That said, Andor’s first season notably takes place before Saw canonically ends up (temporarily) joining forces with Mothma and Organa, something that was most likely motivated by Luthen.

Saw Gerrera’s Star Wars Future Explained

Returning For Andor Season 2

Having recently been confirmed by Forest Whitaker himself, Saw Gerrera will be making a return appearance in Andor season 2. As the series is expected to lead up right to the events of Rogue One, it will be fascinating to see how Luthen ends up convincing Saw to join with others, as well as what Gerrera might specifically do that leads to his falling out with the Rebel Alliance. At any rate, it truly is impressive to see all that Saw Gerrera has done between The Clone Wars and A New Hope, as well everything he was willing to do for a free Star Wars galaxy.

Andor season 2 is expected to being streaming on Disney+ sometime in 2025.