Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The piano tells the story. The soft notes at the beginning of the trailer are like the footsteps of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) a handcuffed criminal being brought before Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) of the Rebel Alliance. As the camera presses in on Jyn its revealed that she has been chosen to uncover the details about a new Imperial weapon, the Death Star. This tale takes place in the past, in between the Revenge of the Sith and The Return of the Jedi. Many exciting events occur in the short span of the teaser trailer. Donnie Yen (Ip man 3, Kung Fu Jungle) faces off against a storm trooper using a quarterstaff similar to Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The actor Jiang Wen (The Lost Bladesman) is shown running with an appealing type of armor that raises even more questions about his character. Ben Mendelsohn (Exodus: Gods and Kings/ The Dark Knight Rises) is highlighted in stark contemplation while draped in a commanding Imperial uniform. There was also a brief view of a dark cloaked figure bowing before Royal Imperial Guards. The variety of stormtroopers in the trailer shows that there will be a large amount of combat. Towards the end of the teaser Forest Whitaker (Southpaw/Taken 3) poises a question to Jyn. “What will you do if they break you? If you continue to fight, what will you become?” As his voice echoes, Jyn Erso appears in Imperial armor followed by the title screen Rogue One. The reason she is wearing this uniform, is left to the imagination and the cinematography of director Gareth Edward (Godzilla/ Monsters.) His vision of the Star Wars Universe is like a camera brought to the dirt covered frontlines of a grueling war. This real take on the epic fits in with the mood for the new Star Wars films. The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and also stars Diego Luna (The Terminal, Elysium) ,  Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale/Hannibal TV series), Alan Tudyk (I, Robot/Firefly TV series), and Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler/Four Lions). My opinion is that there will be many surprises in the motion picture, that will shed light on the greater mythos of the saga. Lucasfilm’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens in theaters December 16, 2016.

For more information please visit: www.starwars.com/films/rogue-one