Plot details revealed for ‘Rogue One,’ first film in ‘Star Wars Anthology’ series

 

Fans at Star Wars Celebration, the fan destination for Star Wars related news and events, continue to enjoy the wealth of information spilling out regarding the future of Star Wars franchise. In the wake of a new trailer and details for 'Episode VII: The Force Awakens,' they got more about 'Rogue One.'

 

In 'Rogue One,' the Jedis are all but extinct, the Old Republic is in turmoil and the threat of the Death Star looms. Director Gareth Edwards, who helmed last year's 'Godzilla', confirmed that the movie will be about a group of rebels who unite to steal plans for the Death Star, inevitably delivering 'a new hope' to the fledgling Rebel Alliance.

 

Edwards  showed off a brief concept teaser for the film.  The teaser did not consist of any footage from the film, as principal photography doesn't commence till summer this year.  Instead it was made with the cooperation of Industrial Light & Magic using existing Star Wars materials from LucasFilm archives.

 

The teaser stars with Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice-over from the first Star Wars: “For more than 1,000 generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire,” the voiceover reads, as the camera tracks over a jungle valley to meet a lone TIE Fighter soaring towards a ghostly Death Star hovering in the clouds.

 

Felicity Jones, best known for her Oscar nominated role in 'The Theory of Everything', is the only cast member confirmed for 'Rogue One.' Edwards said that Jones will play a rebel soldier. “We wanted to see fear, warmth, all of those aspects that everybody has,” Edwards said of Jones, saying she embodies “the complete package”.

 

Edwards maintained that realism will play a key part in the picture's tone. "It's the reality of war. Good guys are bad. Bad guys are good. It's complicated, layered; a very rich scenario in which to set a movie." In the world of Rogue One, Edwards said the “absence of Jedi is omnipresent”. 

 

It's worth noting that the setting timeframe of 'Rogue One' is also the same time period of 'Star Wars: Rebels,' the animated series that airs on the Disney Channel. 'Rebels' received a similar marketing push at Celebration with promos for its upcoming second season. It's possible that the two productions can reference at each other, though it's uncertain whether that will be just in the form of easter eggs or characters crossing mediums.

 

Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy and Kiri Hart also announced the formal name for spin-off films like 'Rogue One': they will be called "anthology films.' So while 'The Force Awakens' full title is 'Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens,' the full title of 2016's film will be 'Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One.' 

 

The characters in 'Rogue One' realize that the “gods are not coming to save us”, Edwards said. “It comes down to a group of people who don’t have magical powers who band together to bring hope to the galaxy.” Fans of the series know that many Bothans died to deliver the Death Star plans, so don't take any bets involving the lives of Bothan characters, main or supporting. — TJD, GMA News