The ‘Rogue’ ones
Who’s who in the new ‘Star Wars’ film; Plus, what you need to know to ‘pass’
So you want to see Rogue One:
A Star Wars Story, but you managed to go your whole life without watching any other Star Wars movies? The good news is you don’t actually have to know much about what happened before or after this movie to follow along: It’s a spinoff. But these extremely basic Star Wars details will help you blend in.
1 THERE ARE THREE ORIGINAL MOVIES THAT CAME OUT BEFORE THE THREE PREQUELS. ROGUE ONE TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THEM. The first Star Wars (later subtitled A New Hope) made its debut in 1977. Two sequels followed: The
Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Those three movies revolve around Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Three prequels followed: The
Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). They focus on Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen), Padme Amadala (Natalie Portman), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor; and played by Alec Guinness in the original films) and Qui- Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Chronologically, 2015’s The Force Awakens is set about 30 years after Return of the Jedi. That movie centers on Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Han and Leia. Rogue One precedes the story of A New Hope and focuses on Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones).
2 THE TITLE CRAWL IS THE SIGNATURE WAY STAR WARS FILMS OPEN. In A New Hope, the opening crawl says: “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, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.”
Those “Rebel spies”? They’re good guys Jyn and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna).
3 THAT BIG ROUND THING? THAT’S THE DEATH STAR. The Death Star is a giant spherical space station constructed by the Galactic Empire, aka Darth Vader and the bad guys. The Death Star is famously destroyed in A New Hope.
4 LUKE AND LEIA ARE THE CHILDREN OF PADME AND ANAKIN. THIS MAKES FOR AWKWARDNESS. Leia is related to Luke. The characters don’t find out until Return of the Jedi that they are long-lost twins adopted by different families. This is a surprising revelation, considering Leia planted a kiss on Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. Their parents abandoned them when Anakin turned to the Dark Side.
5 ANAKIN BECOMES DARTH VADER. Darth Vader is the bad guy in the black mask who breathes loudly. He used to be a Jedi, which is a good knight who uses the meta- physical power of the Force to guard justice in the galaxy.
Vader eventually tells Luke that he is Luke’s father. (If you know one thing, you probably know this.) 6 DROIDS R2-D2 AND C-3PO ARE BFFS. K-2SO IS THE DROID IN ROGUE ONE. R2-D2 (the late Kenny Baker) is a spunky little robot who decodes and makes adorable sounds. His counterpart C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) is a humanlike protocol droid fluent in many languages. K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) is the giant, sarcastic droid star of Rogue One.
7 CHEWBACCA AND HAN SOLO ARE BFFS. Han, a smuggler-turned-goodguy, owns the Millennium Falcon ship, which he flies with co-pilot Chewbacca. Chewie is a 7-foottall Wookiee, a hairy, bipedal mammal who speaks in growls. The two join Luke, Obi-Wan and Leia in Rebel attacks against the Empire. 8 LEIA LOVES HAN. HE KNOWS. Leia eventually tells Han that she loves him, before he gets frozen in carbonite in Empire Strikes Back. His memorable response? “I know.”
9 HAN AND LEIA HAD A CHILD: KYLO REN. HE IS NOT A NICE GUY. Han and Leia had a son, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who has embraced the dark side of the Force, and winds up killing his father. (Children watching their parents die is a theme in Star Wars.)
10 ‘ MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.’ This is a Star Wars phrase often used as a way to say “goodbye and good luck.”