Rogue one: a s ta r wars s t ory

Disney strikes back with a story from a long time ago

OUR ONLY HOPE

Looking forward to your next fix of Star Wars? You don’t have long to wait. This December we’ll be returning to that galaxy far, far away. But this “Star Wars Story” isn’t focusing on the Skywalker clan. Instead, it will bridge directly into the events of A New Hope – in fact, its central McGuffin is what powered Episode IV’s plot…

THAT’ S NO MOON ...

Anyone familiar with the opening minute of A New Hope will have a pretty good idea of the basic plot ( and by all means angle this page while humming John Williams’ theme): “Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR.”

MONSTER MAN

So it’s a gritty heist movie against the backdrop of a massive, daring ground and space battle. And the chosen one bringing balance to this two- for- one Star Wars experience is Gareth Edwards, who handled the intimate character drama of Monsters as well as the CGI decimation of San Francisco in his 2014 take on Godzilla. This will be his biggest picture yet...

REBEL ONE

Heading up a team of hardened, grimy rebels, mercenaries and thieves is serious thesp Felicity Jones, charged with an almost- certainly fatal mission to rifle through the Empire’s filing cabinets in search of a way to kick in the Death Star’s exhaust pipes. But can the gang trust anyone else – or indeed each other – along the way?

THESCOUNDREL SQUAD

Edwards has surrounded Jones with a team of top- quality scum and villainy, including Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker and – we’d bet playing the team’s “Imperial” inside- man – Mads Mikkelsen. Providing the muscle is Donnie Yen, who should hopefully get the chance to put his talents to more use than the guys from The Raid did in The Force Awakens. Meanwhile Serenity’s Alan Tudyk is playing a mo- cap character. It’s probably not a Gungun...

BACKIN BLACK

But the big rumour is who is likely to be on their trail: Darth Vader is not keen on being made to look a fool, and with James Earl Jones providing new dialogue for the Rebels cartoon, we’re surely due an appearance by the Sith Lord... That means there’s also the possibility of Grand Moff Tarkin lingering around the edges, although the excellent Ben Mendelsohn – creepiness in carbon- form – will be

playing the movie’s main baddie.

STAY ON TARGET

Of course, the word “Rogue” has a special place in the hearts of Star Wars fans. It was the title of one of the fighter squadrons which subsequently – in the now defunct expanded universe – became the nom de guerre of Wedge’s team of ace fliers. Expect some spectacular dog fights at

the very least.

WHEN DOES IT ARRIVE?

The rebellion starts on 16 December.