In April, Mads Mikkelsen let it slip that in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" he plays the father of the main character Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones). Now a new prequel novel to "Rogue One" has revealed more information about Mikkelsen's character.
It turns out he has a lot to do with the origins of the Death Star.
According to the description of the novel, "Catalyst," Galen Erso (Mikkelsen) is actually friends with "Rogue One" villain Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) — the one decked out in a cape and Empire gear.
At the time of the novel Krennic is a member of the group assigned to get the Death Star project off the ground. Galen has become an asset as his "energy-focused research" can benefit the Death Star construction. Krennic saves Erso, his wife, and his young daughter Jyn from separatists, and encourages him to continue work on his research for the betterment of the universe.
But Erso soon realizes that Krennic is going to take his work to complete the Death Star, using the research for nefarious ends.
It's certainly an insightful piece of backstory before seeing "Rogue One," the first standalone "Star Wars" movie from Disney, when it hits theaters December 16.
SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about "Stranger Things"— the Netflix show people are obsessed with
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: I waited in line for 9 hours to see 'Hamilton' — here's what it was like