Today marks the release of the first teaser trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Before we get into the teaser itself, let’s talk about what we already know. After the Disney buyout of Lucasfilm as the planning for new Star Wars films was announced, we learned that along with Episodes 7, 8 and 9, there would also be additional stand-alone films that explore the same universe. These would be released in the off-years between the flagship films.
Two of these off-year films have been announced, the first being Rogue One and the second is a young Indiana Jones Han Solo movie coming in 2018. With Rogue One we knew that this would be a movie about the group sent by the Rebels to steal the plans to the Death Star. This would be a new crop of characters with Felicity Jones in a leading role. Aside from knowing who was directing and some of the other cast that was about it. Okay let’s roll the trailer and then get into the good stuff.
First off, I think this looks awesome. This is the prequel I want to see. It does have a similar artistic feel as The Force Awakens with costume, character and set designs that look like the original films but the cinema quality of modern movies. Yes there are some CGI walkers and digital effects at play, but there also seem to be a lot of practical effects and real sets as well.
Trying to unpack what we see in this trailer, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) looks like she has been captured by the Rebels for a variety of infractions. Alone from the age of 15, Jyn appears to have operated independently in her confrontations with the Empire. She is brought before Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly)(also, AWESOME!) where she is given the mission to go infiltrate the development of the Empire’s new battle station.
The teaser rips through shots of new characters, new locations and a few explosions. Being that this is a teaser I don’t want to speculate too much on the story but there are a few visual tidbits I would like to highlight.
- They found a great actress for Mon Mothma. I’m sure it’s difficult to cast some of these roles, but the similarity here is excellent.
- The image of the shadow sweeping across the Death Star construction and the placement of “the dent” as they construct the weapon
- There is an Imperial tank in one shot, with a bunch of Stormtroopers patrolling a city. It’s just a tad more low-key than say an AT-ST.
- Speaking of walkers, the shot of the four attacking AT-ATs looks great. I can’t wait to see that full battle.
- Finally, the last shot where Jyn is wearing an Imperial uniform. This raises tons of questions about how she ended up there, what she intends to do. The elements of espionage and possible heist motives have me very excited.
Rogue One hits theaters this December!