Star Wars fever still has fans in its grip and with the release of the first trailer for the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the temperature is not about to go down anytime soon.
For those who do not know, Rogue One is not a sequel to the Force Awakens. Rather it is a spin off which takes place just before A New Hope. The story is due to follow the mission of a group of rebel spies sent to steal the plans of the Empire’s newest toy, the death star.
Featured at the fore of the trailer, we have Jyn Erso portrayed by Felicity Jones, a rough roguish character with a complicated criminal history. As the titular character Jones will continue the Star Wars trend of strong female leads. Erso’s inclusion has caused fans to speculate over a possible familial connection between her and Rey from Force Awakens. In the final shot of the trailer, Jones strikes a pose reminiscent to that of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games.
Rey’s mysterious origins have been a topic of debate for a long while now. Some believe her to be Luke Skywalker’s daughter while others believe her to have a connection to Obi Wan Kenobi. Whatever the connection may be, there is hope that this film may shed some light on the issue.
Of course Rogue One has plenty of reasons to compel its audience. The trailer featured no shortage of exciting gunfights, explosions, stormtroopers and AT-ATs. Yet what has me wondering is the identity of the mysterious hooded figure. We only see him/her for a few seconds but that was all it took to get my curiosity bubbling. At first guess I thought might be Darth Vader, there have been hints that the iconic villain is set to feature but I have never known Vader to wear a cloak. Most likely it is the emperor and this fact can be further enforced by the presence of the red guards in the background. These same figures played the emperor’s royal bodyguards in the sixth movie. There is also a chance that it might be a brand new character, something I would be very interested to see.
Rogue One has so much on offer and we know this all from a small trailer that is just barely 100 seconds long. Though it is a spin off film, there is high hopes among fans that it will exciting enough to stand tall on its own. Rogue One is due for release in December of 2016.