Saw Gerrera
Saw Gerrera died in 0 BBY.
Saw Gerrera was a human male freedom fighter from Onderon whose four-decade war against tyranny made him both a founding figure of the rebellion and its most feared extremist. During the Clone Wars he and his younger sister Steela led the Onderon rebels against the Separatist-installed king Sanjay Rash, trained in insurgency by Jedi sent secretly by the Republic — Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex — and their victory restored King Ramsis Dendup to the throne, though Steela was killed in the fighting. When the Republic became the Galactic Empire, Saw simply kept fighting, building the Partisans into a militia whose brutal, uncompromising tactics alienated even sympathetic rebels such as Mon Mothma and Luthen Rael and eventually saw him expelled from the nascent Alliance. He rescued and raised Galen Erso's daughter Jyn after her mother's death, only to abandon her as a teenager, and he investigated Imperial atrocities from the emptied hives of Geonosis to the kyber mines of Jedha. Broken in body and dependent on breathing apparatus, Saw ran his final insurgency from the Catacombs of Cadera on Jedha, where he confirmed the truth of the Death Star through Galen's holographic message before choosing to stand his ground and die in the destruction of Jedha City.
- Homeworld
- Onderon
- Species
- Human
- Force Sensitive
- No
~42 BBY - Birth on Onderon
Saw is born on the Inner Rim world of Onderon, elder brother to Steela Gerrera. Canon never states his birth year; he is a grown man by the late Clone Wars and visibly middle-aged by his death.
~20 BBY - The Onderonian rebellion begins
After Separatist-backed King Sanjay Rash deposes Ramsis Dendup, Saw, Steela and Lux Bonteri form a rebel cell in the jungles outside Iziz.
~20 BBY - Trained by the Jedi
The Jedi Council covertly sends Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex to train the Onderon rebels in guerrilla warfare and sabotage.
~20 BBY - Capture and rescue
Saw is captured and tortured by droid forces after acting against orders; the rebels break him out during an operation in Iziz.
~20 BBY - Liberation of Onderon and Steela's death
Armed with Republic-supplied rocket launchers, the rebels destroy the Separatist droid presence and free King Dendup, but Steela falls to her death during the final battle — a loss that hardens Saw permanently.
19 BBY - The Empire rises
The Clone Wars end with the proclamation of the Galactic Empire, and Onderon's liberation gives way to Imperial occupation. Saw refuses to stand down.
~18 BBY - Insurgency with Clone Force 99
Now leading an early anti-Imperial fighting force on Onderon, Saw crosses paths with the renegade clones of the Bad Batch, warning them that neutrality is not an option and eventually abandoning his camp to take the fight elsewhere.
13 BBY - Rescuing Jyn Erso
Answering Galen and Lyra Erso's plea, Saw arrives on Lah'mu after Krennic's raid and takes the orphaned eight-year-old Jyn Erso into his care, raising her as a soldier.
~5 BBY - Abandoning Jyn
Fearing that her identity as Galen Erso's daughter makes her a liability — and her a liability to him — Saw leaves the sixteen-year-old Jyn behind to fend for herself.
5 BBY - Dealings with Luthen Rael
Saw negotiates with the rebel broker Luthen Rael for weapons and intelligence, while rejecting Luthen's push to unite the galaxy's fractured rebel cells under a common command.
~3 BBY - "Revolution is not for the sane"
Operating from a hidden fuel depot, Saw takes on the young Wilmon Paak and delivers his creed on the intoxicating madness of rebellion, exposing himself to rhydonium fumes that further ruin his lungs.
2 BBY - The mystery of Geonosis
Hunting for the truth behind the Empire's secret construction project, Saw meets the crew of the Ghost above Geonosis and discovers the near-total extermination of the Geonosian species, plus evidence of a massive kyber crystal shipment.
~1 BBY - The Partisans on Jedha
Following the kyber trail, Saw bases his Partisans in the Catacombs of Cadera and wages a violent street war against Imperial convoys in the Holy City, alienating the Rebel Alliance leadership with his methods.
0 BBY - Interrogating Bodhi Rook
Saw's Partisans capture the defecting Imperial cargo pilot Bodhi Rook, who carries Galen Erso's message; Saw subjects him to the mind-shredding Bor Gullet before accepting his story.
0 BBY - Reunion with Jyn Erso
Rebel intelligence brings Jyn back to Jedha. Saw, now frail and reliant on a breathing apparatus, apologises for abandoning her and shows her Galen's holographic confession revealing the Death Star's deliberate flaw.
0 BBY - Death in the destruction of Jedha City
When the Death Star fires a single-reactor blast at the Holy City, Saw refuses to flee, telling Jyn to save the Rebellion and "save the dream." He is killed as the shockwave engulfs the catacombs.