Lyra Erso, a human female, was the spouse of Galen Erso, a scientist. During the time of the Clone Wars, Galen faced arrest for his kyber crystal research on Vallt, accused of espionage by Confederate supporters. While he was imprisoned, Lyra gave birth to their daughter, Jyn. Lieutenant Commander Orson Krennic, an old acquaintance of her husband and a member of Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's highly classified Death Star project, orchestrated their rescue.
Krennic then persuaded Galen to proceed with his kyber crystal studies, secretly exploiting this research to develop weaponry for the Death Star. Over the course of several years, Lyra grew increasingly doubtful about Krennic's true intentions in saving her family. She successfully convinced Galen to cease his kyber crystal research and, with the assistance of Saw Gerrera, they fled Coruscant for Lah'mu. Four years after this, Krennic, accompanied by a squad of death troopers, located the Erso family, seeking to return them to Coruscant. Lyra met her death at the hands of a death trooper when she menaced Krennic with a blaster.
Years later, Jyn joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic and pilfered the blueprints for the Death Star weapon, Krennic's great accomplishment. Following the sacrifice of Rogue One, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin commanded the Death Star to obliterate Scarif, eliminating Rogue One and all present Imperial forces, including Krennic, vindicating Lyra's final words.
Lyra Erso's birth occurred on Aria Prime in 47 BBY. As an only child, she attended the University of Rudrig starting in 29 BBY. Lyra's mother secured loans to finance her education, which Lyra subsequently repaid through her work providing HoloNet content. In her youth, Lyra befriended Nari Sable.
At 21 years old, Lyra encountered Galen Erso while employed as a guide for Galen's team of scientists who were researching crystals on the planet Espinar. Lyra led a survey team that unearthed a complex cave system and discovered unique crystals. Her extensive knowledge of the cave system resulted in Galen choosing her as his guide for studying the crystals. As they collaborated, Galen and Lyra fell in love and married six months later on Coruscant in 25 BBY.
Three years after marriage to Galen, as the Clone Wars began, Lyra served as Galen's lab assistant during their period of research into kyber crystals on Vallt for Zerpen Industries. Lyra possessed a talent for mimicry, enabling her to communicate with the local Valltii in their native tongue more effectively than her husband.
Shortly before arriving on Vallt, Lyra became pregnant with Jyn, her and Galen's daughter. In 22 BBY, a coup transpired on the planet, aided by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The previous ruler, King Chai, was killed and replaced by Marshal [Phara], a Separatist ally. Galen and Lyra were apprehended while trying to escape Vallt, and Galen was arrested on fabricated charges of espionage against the Confederacy.
While Galen was in Valltii custody, Lyra was held in the northern wing of the Keep in Tambolor. Jyn was born during this captivity; Galen was allowed to be present for the birth, despite the investigation into his alleged spying for the Galactic Republic.
Six months after Jyn's birth, Orson Krennic rescued the Erso family from imprisonment as part of a prisoner exchange. Galen, Lyra, and Jyn were exchanged for Nan Pakota and Urshe Torr, two prominent Separatist scientists. Following the exchange, Krennic ordered the Keep's destruction by Republic forces, resulting in the deaths of Galen and Lyra's research partners and friends, as well as numerous inhabitants of the planet.
In 18 BBY, Krennic proposed that she survey a cave system on the planet Alpinn. Initially, she doubted his offer, correctly suspecting he merely wanted her out of the picture. Ultimately, she accepted the offer at Galen's urging, taking Jyn with her for the three-month survey.
During their stay on Alpinn, Lyra and Jyn resided at the Alpinn archaeology camp alongside Lyra's old friend, Sable, the pilot Has Obitt, and other researchers.
Instead of kyberite, the caves contained ranite, a related mineral.
On their return journey to Coruscant, Lyra, Jyn, Nari, and Has paused in orbit around Samovar and Wadi Raffa, planets being ruthlessly exploited for resources by the Empire. Lyra was deeply disturbed and angered by the destructive mining operation, confronting Krennic about the environmental devastation.
For four years, the Erso family remained hidden from Imperial forces on the Outer Rim planet Lah'mu. While there, they lived a self-sufficient life by cultivating crops and purifying water on their expansive homestead, provided by Saw Gerrera. Anxious about Krennic finding them, the family devised an elaborate plan to conceal themselves, which included constructing an underground bunker beneath a small cave on their property. Krennic and a contingent of death troopers eventually located the Erso family and confronted them. Lyra instructed Jyn to escape, giving her a pendant containing a kyber crystal fragment, taken from Galen's research materials during their escape from Coruscant. She then fled, while her husband Galen falsely told Krennic that she had died during their time on Lah'mu. However, to Galen's dismay, Lyra reappeared and confronted Krennic and his troopers, threatening him with an EC-17 hold-out blaster. A trooper shot and killed Lyra, causing her to shoot Krennic in his left shoulder after her death, wounding him. Lyra's body was taken aboard Krennic's shuttle on a gurney on the Director's orders. Krennic informed Galen that they would have a funeral for Lyra as soon they reached Coruscant and would be honored.
Lyra studied the history and philosophy of the Jedi because of her deep respect for the natural world. She was in agreement with the Order's values of generosity, compassion, and peaceful resolution. Lyra thought she could sense the Force, but she couldn't use it like the Jedi. While living on Coruscant during the early years of the Empire, Lyra started wearing a red sash that was associated with groups of Force worshippers on planets like Jedha. It's not known if she ever got in touch with the Church of the Force, which was developing on Coruscant at the same time.
Valene Kane played Lyra Erso in the 2016 movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The first time we saw Lyra Erso was in the second International trailer, which came out on November 10, 2016.
In an earlier version of the film's script, Lyra was going to be a Jedi, but this idea was quickly dropped because the creative team thought it would be better to show what life was like for ordinary people in the galaxy after the Jedi Order fell following Order 66.