Rogue One

A new group of rebels do battle against the Empire in this standalone chapter of the saga, which nevertheless fits neatly into the story timeline between 2005's Revenge of the Sith and the original 1977 Star Wars. Felicity Jones heads the cast as Jyn Erso, whose father reluctantly helped design the Death Star, and now plans to steal the blueprints to prevent any further evil. Director Gareth Edwards delivers a fast-paced and thrilling film that, while littered with various motifs alluding to previous episodes of the franchise, emerges with its own strong identity and sense of purpose. Jones is a feisty and likeable heroine, and has terrific support from Diego Luna and Riz Ahmed as fellow freedom fighters, and the series unveils another iconic android in the form of wisecracking and sarcastic K-2S0, voiced by Alan Tudyk (Serenity).