Star Wars: Rogue One May Bring Back This Memorable Cantina Character

Rogue One

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is returning Star Wars fans to familiar territory this December when it explores the events that happened shortly before Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, a.k.a. the first movie. However, aside from Mon Mothma and Darth Vader (and Saw Guerrera, if you're a Clone Wars series fan), the movie's main characters will be new players off on their own mission. However, now there's a chance we may reunite with a familiar face from when Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi visited the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine. Unfortunately, this guy is anything but friendly.

The folks over at The Star Wars Post recently noticed an an actor who is listed for CGI and dialogue work in Rogue One as Dr. Cornelius Evazan, a surgeon who conducted cruel medical experiments, as established in the canon outside the movies. The name might not ring a bell, but if you've see A New Hope, you'll definitely remember his face, seen below. Unfortunately, the post hid the actor's name and photo, so we have no idea who is supposedly playing him.

Cornelius Evazan

When Luke Skywalker went to the cantina in A New Hope, Evanzan's partner-in-crime, an Aqualish named Ponda Baba, tried to pick a fight with Luke. When Luke didn't react, Evazan came up to the farm boy and started bragging about their criminal record. This led Obi-Wan Kenobi to try to ease the tension by buying the duo drinks, but Evazan wouldn't have it. He attacked Luke, leading Obi-Wan to slash him across the chest and slice off Ponda Baba's arm with his lightsaber. These two were the epitome of scum and villainy, showing Luke that life outside his farming community was dangerous.

While Cornelius Evazan appearing in Rogue One might be a treat for longtime Star Wars fans, we wouldn't go so far as to say it's guaranteed. It certainly didn't help that the website didn't show the actor's identity, so for now, take this information with a grain of salt. Still, Rogue One takes between weeks or even days before A New Hope begins, and there's a chance one or a few of the main characters could end up in the Mos Eisley area. If that happens, then it's possible that they might run into him or visit an establishment that he's also in.

With everything happening in Rogue One, even if Cornelius Evazan showed up, it's not like he would majorly contribute to the plot. It probably would just be a quick appearance, similar to how Tarkin cameoed at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Casual viewers would simply see him as another random alien, but hardcore fans will recognize him as the ugly bastard who gave Luke a hard time. However, because Rogue One is a prequel, we won't learn what happened to him and his partner after Obi-Wan "taught them a lesson."

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

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.