Everything You Need to Know About Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the next major film to be set in the vast universe of Disney’s shiny new Star Wars franchise. Being the first of Disney’s “Anthology” films — meaning those that are not part of the core trilogy kicked off by J.J. Abrams — Rogue One will be a standalone film taking place before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The movie will feature a cast of entirely new characters, giving fans an unprecedented look into the veins that reside outside the main Skywalker artery. Directed by Godzilla‘s Gareth Edwards, Rogue One is expected to be tonally and thematically distinct from the previous Star Wars films, telling a dire tale set during one of the most turbulent periods in the canon.

The film’s release date (December 16) is still months away, but there have been quite a few leaks and ongoing developments regarding Rogue One’s production. For Star Wars junkies everywhere, we’ve put together this guide of all the major news, rumors, and information you need to know about the film. We’ll also be updating the piece periodically as we learn new information. Oh, and please be aware this post contains major spoilers. If you wish to remain blissfully ignorant about the film, this is your last chance to turn back.

That said, if you’re the type who just has to know what’s happening, you’ve come to the right place.

The Rogue One trailer

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The first trailer for Rogue One was released April 7, 2016, introducing audiences to Jyn Erso, the film’s female protagonist. Erso is shown to be a formidable fighter, one who takes on a mission directly from Rebel leader and classic Star Wars character Mon Mothma, now played by Genevieve O’Reilly. The mission is to uncover the Galactic Empire’s plans to test out a new, deadly weapon — what we know to be the Death Star — and learn how to destroy it. The trailer also provides glimpses of other various characters, including Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and Forrest Whitaker’s as-yet-unnamed warrior character. It does an excellent job at setting the tone for the movie, which appears to be (for now) much darker than any Star Wars film prior. Read more here.

Cast and characters leaked

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Several pages from a Rogue One visual guide recently leaked, including two pages detailing the core group of rebel heroes — an eclectic group of mercenaries, bounty hunters, and rebel agents — as well as members of the Imperial forces. The text on the pages is a bit difficult to make out, though some details have been gleaned regarding each of the featured characters.

The leader of the group is Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones. Erso is the main protagonist of the film, described as a “gifted soldier and warrior.”

The rest of the rebel team descriptions are as follows:

Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) — an officer in the Rebel Alliance
Baze (Jian Weng) — freelance assassin
K-250 (voiced by Alan Tudyk) — Imperial Vollstreckerdroide (Executor droid) who joins the rebels
Bodhi (Riz Ahmed) — rebel soldier
Chirrut (Donnie Yen) — the “spiritual warrior”
Pao and Bistan — a pair of aliens both described as “fierce warriors”

Clearly, we’re dealing with a far more grizzled and gruff crew than we’re used to seeing in Star Wars films.

As for the Imperials, only one named character, Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), is detailed. Krennic is described as the Empire’s military director — tasked with preventing the Rebellion’s covert operations — and is ostensibly the main antagonist. The other Imperial forces revealed are a squad of unique Stormtroopers clad in black armor called “Deathtroopers.” Based upon their appearance and name, and the fact that they seem to be reporting directly to Director Krennic, we’re guessing this trooper squad will be far more capable and pose a much greater threat than your rank-and-file Stormtrooper.

Mads Mikkelsen’s major role

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One of the characters not discussed in the leaked visual guide is Mads Mikkelsen’s character. However, some rumors point to Mikkelsen’s role being important, not just to the characters in Rogue One, but also to the broader Star Wars canon. First, we know that Mikkelsen’s character will be named Galen, and that he shares an important tie with another character. In an interview with Sky News, Mikkelsen said that he will play the father of Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso. “I read the script and it was very beautiful, and Felicity is playing this lovely, strong woman and I play her father,” said Mikkelsen, before quickly quipping that he had shared too much.

That’s a big reveal in and of itself, but there’s more. Rumor has it that Galen is one of the scientists in charge of the development of the original Death Star. This may seem like a contradiction, with Galen being a part of the Empire while his daughter is a rebel agent. However, there is some speculation that Galen is not the staunch supporter of the Empire he appears to be, and his interest in the Death Star comes from a place of scientific interest, rather than power or allegiance, which may lead to defect to the Rebels after witnessing the Death Star’s destructive potential.

Who is Forest Whitaker’s crotchety warrior?

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The only details gleaned thus far about Whitaker’s stern character have been gathered from the trailer: he seems to be a hardened, battle-wizened warrior of some type. He walks with a limp and the aid of a cane (perhaps it doubles as a weapon?) and is clad in armor that appears to be a mismatch of different styles. Such a description would likely suit a bounty hunter. Everything else about the character — including his name, allegiances, history, and how he will interact with Erso and the rest of the rebels — is a complete mystery for now.

New Stormtrooper flavors

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One of the first glimpses of Rogue One production was this photo of several Stormtrooper helmets that will be featured in the film, two of which are new to the franchise. The black helmet on the left is worn by the Deathtroopers, while the middle is the classic white Stormtrooper design. The right belongs to a new version of the Stormtrooper known as Shoretroopers, which we can only assume are a class of Stormtrooper outfitted to fight in coastal environments, much like The Empire Strikes Back‘s Snowtroopers were specialized for arctic combat.

Sandy set shots reveal the location of a major battle

Aerial shots from a Rogue One shooting location showcase a sandy, perhaps coastal location riddled with the scars and evidence of destructive combat. This is likely the same sandy battlefield shown in the trailer.

New AT-AT designs

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The most recent poster for the upcoming Star Wars Celebration event in London this year shows off characters and vehicles from both The Force Awakens and Rogue One, including a new version of the AT-AT called the AT-ACT (all terrain armored cargo transport), and the Shoretrooper. The menacing Deathtroopers are also featured on the poster, one of which seems to have night vision lights illuminating his helmet, adding further credence to the idea that this unit is better equipped and better trained than normal Stormtroopers.

Peter Cushing will return from beyond the Force

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Actor Peter Cushing, who portrayed the menacing and nefarious Grand Moff Tarkin in the original Star Wars, died of prostate cancer nearly 22 years ago. His iconic character, however, is set to make an appearance in Rogue One. Rather than recast the part, Edwards has chosen to recreate Cushing’s form on screen through the magic of CGI and motion capture. Special effects creators are combing through footage of Cushing’s performances in the original film, as well as his many roles in Hammer Films’ classic horror flicks, in order to faithfully recreate the actor’s mannerisms and motions — even down to the way he moved his feet when he walked. Read more here.

Lord Vader??

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Grand Moff Tarkin isn’t the only classic Star Wars villain rumored to be in the film. In fact, the Star Wars villain himself, Darth Vader, is rumored to have a presence in the film, which has been seemingly substantiated by the remarkable number of appearances Vader makes in leaked art and illustrations. This would mark the first time Vader’s presence has been felt on-screen in more than a decade — his most recent appearance was in Revenge of the Sith — and the first time we’ll have seen the character alive and on-screen in any of Disney’s new Star Wars tales. Rumor has it that British actor and stuntman Spencer Wilding will be embodying Darth Vader. It remains to be seen, however, if James Earl Jones will be reprising his role as the villain’s voice. Read more here.

10 minutes before A New Hope

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We know Rogue One takes place between Episodes III and IV, while the rebellion is mounting attacks against the Galactic Empire, but new rumors suggest Rogue One is said to end a mere 10 minutes before the opening of A New Hope, chronicling the events briefly mentioned in the opening crawl to the original classic. This interim period of time between the first two trilogies has been largely untouched by Disney’s official canon outside of the animated TV show Star Wars Rebels. It should be exciting to see how the events of Rogue One lead into A New Hope.

The reshoots

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While reshoots are a very common occurence built into the budget of all major blockbusters, Disney has reportedly ordered fairly extensive reshoots for Rogue One after initial test screenings of the film were supposedly poorly received among studio execs — but not for the reasons you might think. The execs supposedly raised concerns over the darker tone of the film, worried it wouldn’t match up with the lighter vibe of A New Hope. The reshoots are expected to take place throughout summer. Some reports, citing unnamed sources on set, have also suggested that as much as 40 percent of the movie will be reshot, though that number has also been widely criticized as unsubstantiated and/or exaggerated.

Regardless of the amount of reshoots involved, rumors suggest Rogue One currently plays more like war film according to various Hollywood insiders, rather than an operatic space adventure. Earlier rumors suggested that the reshoots were the result of quality concerns following poor performance with test audiences, but it was later revealed that these test screenings never took place. In any event, many believe the reshoots are more of a positive sign than a negative one, suggesting Disney is willing to spare no expense to make sure Rogue One plays out exactly as it should to fit into the beloved franchise. Read more here.

Solo cameo?

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It now seems likely that Han Solo will be in Rogue One — at least in some capacity. Rumor has it that one goal of the aforementioned reshoots is to film scenes with the legendary smuggler. Considering actor Alden Ehrenreich has been recently cast to play the iconic hero in the upcoming Han Solo anthology film, it seems plausible that the actor could make his debut as Solo in Rogue One.

from Planet GS via John Jason Fallows on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1RZzfD9
Brendan Hesse