Hundreds of thousands of Star Wars fans have already preordered tickets to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as reported by Fandango, whose website crashed due to the huge demand. From what was seen from the trailers, the film offers the typical Star Wars action, but not the typical Star Wars story.
Rogue One tells the story of a female rebel, Jyn Erso, who works with a group of unlikely heroes led by Cassian Andor on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s new superweapon. The movie will take place between Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV – A New Hope, but closer to the latter.
In the previous trailers, we have learned that our new female lead, Jyn, played by Felicity Jones, is going to be the heart of the rebel mission. If anything, she is the driving force of the film as the center of the rebel group, in addition to her awareness of the Force. “There’s nothing more exciting than to see another female lead in Star Wars,” said freshman Kelly Sanchez. “We often see male leads in movies, we need something new.”
Rogue One includes not only a female lead, but also an all-star diverse cast that includes Forest Whitaker as Saw Guerrera, Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook, Donnie Yen as Chirrut Imwe, and Jiang Wen as Baze Malbus. Diversity is nothing new in Star Wars; however, Rogue One appears to have the most diverse cast of all Star Wars movies.
The imposing baritone of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, makes a welcome return. Vader himself is even lurking in the official Rogue One poster, making his appearance very highly anticipated by the fans. Another returning character is Grand Moff Tarkin, Vader’s superior, who will make his appearance as the Death Star is assembled.
So far, Rogue One appears to have it all: a female lead, a diverse cast, returning characters, and an interesting plot in the origin of the Death Star. However, it is the first Star Wars stand-alone story, meaning that it does not directly continue the Star Wars saga from the previous films. This also means that there is no guarantee that the main characters will survive.
Directed by Gareth Edwards, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to hit U.S. theaters in December 16th.
