Things You Missed In The New Rogue One Trailer
The final trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has arrived, and it finally pulls back the curtain on exactly what fans can expect from the first spinoff story.
The logline is simple: A small team of Rebels team up to try and steal the Death Star plans, a dash of Magnificent Seven, a sweeping space adventure, and a heist pic all rolled into one. But they've managed to keep a lot of the plot under wraps — until now. The final trailer establishes the stakes and the players. Just for you, we watched the trailer 50 times and kept our eyes peeled for anything you might've missed.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens December 16.
Until then, here's everything you might've missed in the latest trailer.
Jyn's dad is to blame for the Death Star
It's been a widely known secret about this film that Jyn's (Felicity Jones) father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) played some type of role in the development of the Death Star, but now we actually get some back story. The trailer opens with an Imperial shuttle settling down on a secluded planet when Galen is hiding out with Jyn. Inside the Imperial ship is weapons developer Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), who has brought a team of Deathtroopers to collect Galen to work on a mystery project. (See: The Death Star.)
But he's apparently there because the Empire forced him
After seeing these new flashback scenes, it indicates Galen is likely developing the Death Star under duress by the Empire. In the present-day scenes featuring Galen, he doesn't seem very happy about being a part of this planet-busting project. Considering he was basically kidnapped in this scene to help get it off the ground, it seems this Rebel mission could be both a heist and a rescue.
We get Jyn's origin story
The opening flashback seems to fill in a good bit of Jyn's backstory: Her father, Galen, went on the run from the Empire while Jyn was just a young girl (See his line: "Whatever I do, I do it to protect you"). When the Imperial forces arrive, Jyn is hiding in a field watching the Deathtroopers take her father. With that line, did Galen mean he's going with them to protect Jyn in that moment, so they don't take her?
The Rebels rescue Jyn from Imperial custody
Cut to the present day, and we get a bit more context about Jyn's current situation. We'd already seen her shackled for some reason in previous trailers. Now, the jailbreak scene here reveals she was in Imperial custody and a contingent of Rebels bust in to save her. Why? The next scene cuts to a conversation about whether she's been in touch with her father the past few years. It seems the Rebels believe Jyn might be able to get through to her father to abort the launch of the Death Star.
The movie gets its name from the ship call sign
We weren't sure until now what "Rogue One" actually means. Director Gareth Edwards had previously told Empire magazine the film's title was more of a metaphor for the project itself, as the first spinoff film not following known characters like Luke and Leia. He also said it was in reference to Jyn as a way to describe her character. But on-screen? It's the impromptu call sign they come up with for their ship during the mission: "Rogue One." There you go.
That's one big statue
Unlike the mainline Star Wars films, Rogue One is not expected to feature any Jedi in a meaningful way (Darth Vader excluded, of course). Instead, this has been pitched as a story of regular folks taking on the big, bad Empire. But this gorgeous shot of a U-Wing ship flying over the remnants of a massive fallen Jedi statue shows their influence is still a part of this larger world.
Darth Vader looms large
When word broke that Rogue One would be set immediately before the events of A New Hope, fans immediately started speculating it'd be the perfect opportunity to bring back Darth Vader. He had a role in the Death Star prep anyway, and it stands to reason Lucasfilm would capitalize on the opportunity to resurrect the long-dead character for the prequel. Previous trailers had offered up fleeting glimpses of Vader's back and his trademark heavy breathing, but the new footage here finally shows him in action. We see Vader (looking a bit angry) walking toward Krennic. Could this be after the Rebel team inflicts some damage on the Death Star project?
It feels more A New Hope-ful
It's no secret the film went back in for extensive reshoots a few months ago, with rumors swirling over exactly how Disney was looking to retool the project. Initial reports indicated Edwards' original cut was a bit too dark and gritty, so the new footage and editing was potentially added to lighten the mood a bit. The early trailers did take on a more serious tone, while the scenes here have a more hopeful vibe (and the score is also a bit more bombastic, as opposed to somber). That's exemplified in the line where Jyn Erso tells the team: "You're all Rebels, aren't you?" It's an us-against-the-world story, but the Rebels do still believe they can win.
Matching the tone and feel of a sci-fi classic is no easy task, especially when it was made 30+ years ago. Edwards is walking a fine tightrope, but he looks to keep his balance in the footage here.
The team goes undercover as Imperial officers
One fleeting shot shows Jyn and other members of her Rebel strike team disguised as Imperial officers (along with Alan Tudyk's droid K-2SO). Could this be the moment where they're breaking in to find Galen? Also, for fans of the original trilogy, the undercover move is a classic tactic to access Empire facilities. (Chronologically, though, Jyn technically did it first, right?)
Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera joins up with Jyn
Forest Whitaker is playing a mysterious man who should be very familiar to fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Bringing in the character of Saw Gerrera is a fascinating move and marks the first major transition from TV to film. Saw was introduced in Clone Wars as a young man (since the animated series was set before the events of Rogue One, when future Darth Vader Anakin Skywalker was still relatively young). Now Saw is all grown up and live-action in Rogue One, and he'll be joining Jyn's crusade.
No, that's not a shot from Mad Max: Fury Road
It wouldn't be a Star Wars movie if we didn't get to meet a few new alien species, and this design certainly looks like it was pulled from Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller's sketchbook. But actually, this alien is named Edrio Two-Tubes, and despite the Immortan Joe vibe, he's actually an ally of Saw Gerrera. Edrio and his twin brother, Benthic, fought alongside Saw after the Empire attacked their own home planet.
We will definitely get some space battles
Star Wars: The Force Awakens made all the money, and for good reason. The movie was pretty great. But it was lacking in one key area: space battles. It's called Star Wars. It's in the title. But aside from a fleeting scene or two, most of the ship combat was confined to planetary attacks. That looks to change in Rogue One. The footage here shows a fleet of X-Wings attacking a large Imperial ship in space. Rogue One is finally putting the star wars back in Star Wars.
This is the moment the Rebellion makes its first real move
The Rebel planning scenes like the one here echo the feel of the original trilogy. Before the Rebellion was looking to take the Empire head-on, these disparate Rebel leaders were joining up for their first major mission to steal the Death Star plans in the events of Rogue One. The Rebellion is still in its infancy in A New Hope, but it seems Rogue One will give us a chance to dig into its birth. It's a fascinating era in the Star Wars canon, and one that's largely been unexplored on the big screen. We can't wait to see more.