Disney and Lucasfilm are currently capitalizing on all of the positive hype thatStar Wars: The Force Awakenswas able to generate for the franchise. This weekend, they are holding their annual fan event,Star WarsCelebration in London, and they have given fans a brand new, sneak peek at the upcoming spin off movieRogue One: A Star Wars Story. ProducerKathleen Kennedyand directorGareth Edwardstook part in a panel today all aboutRogue One, and during the course of it revealed somenever-before-seen characterswho are set to appear in the movie.
Disney decided not to release a trailer during the panel, but they did release a behind the scenes sizzle reel, which has been uploaded to theStar WarsYouTubechannel. The video showcases a ton of behind the scenes footage fromRogue One, but also introduced a handful of brand new faces that we haven’t seen in any of the previous footage or promo art for the movie. Here is whatGareth Edwardshad to say about the footage before they debuted it at theRogue Onepanel.
“Ok, so this is a little sneak peak. I’m very proud of the way we approached this film and tried to make it in a very different way. I hope it will come through in what you are about to see.
At around the 1:42 mark in the video, we get a quick sizzle of somebrand new characters. There are a couple of new droids, some brand new aliens, and one character that looks like a friendlier version of a Wampa fromThe Empire Strikes Back. We also go to seeWarwick Davis, who is again playing a character inRogue One, but we didn’t get to see his character in full costume, so we don’t know exactly who he is playing just yet. The coolest bit is at around the 2:04 minute mark whenEdwardsis directing one of the new alien characters, who appears to be on a Rebel gun ship in the middle of some combat.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis a prequel movie that takes place in the time between the events ofRevenge of the SithandA New Hopeand tells the story of how the Rebels got their hands on the plans for the Empire’s planet destroying weapon, theDeath Star. The band of Rebels tasked with stealing the plans is being led by Jyn Erso, who has been described as a “Joan of Arc” character by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. She is accompanied by a mixed bag of rag-tag Rebels who are trying to secure the plans so that the Rebel Alliance can destroy the Empire’s new, deadly weapon.
This firstStar Wars spinoffmovie introduces a bunch of other new characters who are being played by some top notch talent. The cast playing these new characters includesFelicity Jones,Mads Mikkelsen,Ben Mendelsohn,Alan Tudyk,Diego Luna,Donnie Yen,Wen JiangandForest Whitaker, who is playing Saw Gerrera fromStar Wars: The Clone Wars. The movie is directed byGodzillahelmerGareth Edwards. The script was written byChris Weitz, with the story byGary WhittaandJohn Knoll.
Star WarsCelebration is taking place in London now through Sunday, so we are sure to be getting lots moreStar Warsnews throughout the weekend. We will be sure to keep you updated on all of the news coming out of celebration as it breaks, so be sure to stay tuned.Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis set to hit theaters on December 16. Be sure to check out all of the images of the new characters and aliens from the movie below.
