Director Orson Callan Krennic is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn in the 2016 film Rogue One as the main antagonist.

[5] The character of Orson Krennic is depicted as a power-hungry and ruthless Imperial weapons developer overseeing the construction of the Death Star, a space station with the capability to destroy an entire planet.

When the Death Star is completed, Krennic tests its superlaser on the capital city of Jedha upon Tarkin's request, killing Rebel extremist Saw Gerrera and his Partisans.

[12] Krennic is a playable character in the 2015 action shooter video game Star Wars Battlefront, as part of the 2016 downloadable content (DLC) Rogue One: Scarif expansion pack.

He also appears as a playable character in the mobile turn-based role-playing game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, classified as an Empire support who inflicts various debuffs and works well with a Death Trooper.

He is also a Dark Side squad leader in the 2017 MOBA Star Wars: Force Arena who provides a small energy boost and also possesses a rapid-fire attack ability.

Krennic is mentioned a few times in the final season of Star Wars Rebels, but did not appear in the series due to a creative decision by Dave Filoni.

"[17] In Sight & Sound's otherwise critical review of the film, Tim Hayes wrote, "Apart from Ben Mendelsohn's weaselly Orson Krennic ... and perhaps Donnie Yen as a blind samurai ... the faces are unmemorable and the characters unexceptional".

[18] Meredith Woerner of Los Angeles Times called the white cape which Krennic wears the "standout piece" of the film, writing that it "unfolds a world of menace by simply gliding over a bloody beach or whipping through the rain without ever showing even the tiniest speck of dirt.

"[19] Conversely, Joshua Starnes wrote that Krennic's failures against the Rebels and pursuit of praise do not make him "a particularly sinister or effective villain", and the film "continually weakens him as a threatening presence".