The mighty Death Star returns in this trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

By Rick Marshall April 7, 2016

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is still in some theaters, but now we have our first look at the next chapter in the Star Wars saga via the first official trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm revealed the Rogue One debut trailer during today’s episode of Good Morning America, and the preview offers a peek at the first installment of a series of standalone spinoff films set within the Star Wars universe.

Directed by Monsters and Godzilla filmmaker Gareth Edwards, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story unfolds in the period between the events of prequel film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and the franchise-starting 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The film follows a group of rebel agents who are tasked with a seemingly impossible (and likely suicidal) mission: stealing the plans to the Empire’s deadly new weapon, the Death Star.

Oscar-nominated The Theory of Everything actress Felicity Jones features prominently in the trailer as a rebellious woman recruited for the dangerous mission who clearly has some demons of her own to confront along the way. She’s joined in the cast by Diego Luna (Milk), Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal), and Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler). Firefly actor Alan Tudyk also provides the motion-capture performance for one of the featured characters in the film.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story features a script penned by About a Boy and The Golden Compass screenwriter Chris Weitz, based on a story conceived by Star Wars franchise veteran John Knoll (who also serves as an executive producer on the film) and The Book of Eli and The Walking Dead: The Game writer Gary Whitta. Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The King’s Speech) will provide the film’s score.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to hit theaters December 16, 2016.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Entertainment

5 things we want to see in Star Wars: The Acolyte

Dafne Keen as Jecki in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Star Wars: The Acolyte aims to be one of the more unique additions to the Star Wars universe. This upcoming series will give audiences their first look into the world of the Jedi during the age of the High Republic. Specifically, it will follow the Jedi near the end of this era as they investigate a string of crimes that will have them uncover evil forces brewing in the shadows.

Due to the open-ended nature of this piece of Star Wars history, fans can only imagine what The Acolyte will add to the franchise. But until it premieres, here's hoping the show will feature these five things in its first season.
The Jedi-Sith War

Entertainment

The Acolyte’s first trailer embraces the Dark Side of Star Wars

Amandla Stenberg in The Acolyte.

Since the launch of Disney+ in 2019, there have been four live-action Star Wars series, including The Mandalorian and Andor. But the one thing that each of those shows had in common was that they followed the hero of the story. This summer, The Acolyte is flipping the switch on that by putting the spotlight on Mae (Amandla Stenberg), a former Padawan in the Jedi Order who seems to have quite a grudge against her onetime masters. That may be why Mae is attacking and apparently killing Jedi with knives in the first trailer for The Acolyte.

The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+

Entertainment

Star Wars could’ve had Christopher Walken as Han Solo and Jodie Foster as Princess Leia

An old man talks in Dune: Part Two.

The great thing about a hit movie is that you tend to find out things during interviews, premieres, and press conferences that would have never surfaced otherwise. Dune: Part Two is one such movie. In the lead-up to the movie's blockbuster opening weekend, we've discovered Josh Brolin's hidden talents as a poet and photographer, Javier Bardem's dedication to his children, Zendaya's love for the sci-fi classic Metropolis, and Austin Butler's appreciation for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The most recent revelation, however, tops all of those. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Christopher Walken, who plays Shaddam IV, the film's fearsome Emperor, explains why he came out of a four-year break from acting in films and joined Dune: Part Two. One reason was due to his admiration for the first film, which cemented Denis Villeneuve's status as one of the best sci-fi directors ever, and his appreciation of the sequel's impressive cast, which also includes Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dave Bautista.