Everything we know about Rogue One, the first Star Wars spin-off movie
From casting to stealing the Death Star plans, here's yet another reason Star Wars fans should get excited
Look, that trailer was exciting enough. Disney could have wrapped up the Star Wars Celebration in California immediately afterwards and we wouldn’t have grudged them anything. We were sated. Well, we will be once we’ve watched in 30 million more times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngElkyQ6Rhs
But no, the new owners of Star Wars insist on giving us too much of a good thing, screening an early, early look at the first of their planned Star Wars spin-off films. Here’s everything we know thus far about Star Wars: Rogue One.
The non-episode films are called…
The technological terror was briefly seen under construction at the end of Revenge of the Sith, but because the Emperor hired the same guys who did the Edinburgh trams, the Rebellion had plenty of time to steal the plans and find out its fatal weakness. Which led to…
There are no Jedi
Taking place between Episode III (boooo) and Episode IV (yaaaay), most of the Jedi have been wiped out during the Emperor’s coup. That means we won’t be following the laser-deflecting space monks, but a far more everyday, relatable team of interstellar fighter pilots.
Felicity Jones will play a Rebel soldier
The actress will presumably spend the next few months trying to forget all of the actual physics she learned on The Theory of Everything. Suspension of disbelief and all that.
Even without the Sith, it’s a trip to the Dark Side
Star Wars has never been too complicated morally. Essentially, Red Lightsaber = evil. Gareth Edwards, who directed Godzilla, is keen on making Rogue One an ethically grey war movie, citing references like Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down. “It’s called Star…Wars,” he told Entertainment Weekly. If there is a sequel, expect it to really focus on the ‘Star’ part.
It’s coming out December 2016
Rogue One is filming this summer and releasing next festive season. That’s one year after The Force Awakens. Disney isn’t planning on giving nerds an off-year…ever again really.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens will be released in the UK on the 18th December
