Updated May 17th

Now that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has just about asserted its total dominance around the world, moviegoers are already looking ahead to the next installment in the Star Wars franchise, one that's coming out in 2016. According to a recent poll by Fandango, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is audiences' most-anticipated film of the new year. But how much do people really know about it?

With the aim of keeping you as informed as possible about this newly minted "most-anticipated" film, we've rounded up everything we know about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for this handy guide. Get caught up on the cast that includes the Oscar-nominated Felicity Jones and the crew that includes Godzilla director Gareth Edwards and Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat. Find out just what separates this first anthology film from the core trilogies and how the filmmakers are planning to make Rogue One stand out. All that and more follows below.

Who's In It?

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Image via Disney

Disney confirmed the bulk of the casting for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story late last year in a press release, though the character identities and their roles in the film have yet to be revealed. As of this writing, Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk - who plays a performance-capture character - and Riz Ahmed have all been confirmed. (We previously reported that Sam Claflin was considered a frontrunner for a lead role, but either he lost out to another actor or Disney just hasn't announced him yet; the former is more likely.) Most of this cast, minus Whitaker, Mendelsohn, Mikkelsen, and Tudyk, were revealed in the film's first official image, so we'll break that image down along with the cast here.

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Image via Lucasfilm

Felicity Jones was the first actor confirmed to star, though it's still not entirely clear whether she's the female lead or not. (See what she had to say about joining the Star Wars universe here.) There was a rumor going around that she might actually be Boba Fett's daughter, but we've yet to come across any evidence suggesting that this might be the case. However, taking a look at Jones in costume does reveal a few things: Her positioning in the group image certainly suggests that she's the leader of this ragtag group of Rebels, she seems to be wearing that blaster at her side with a sense of experience and familiarity, and her weathered outfit suggests a decent amount of time spent out in the elements. She also has what appears to be some sort of scope in her jacket pocket, so it's within the realm of speculation that she might use it for recon of some sort.

Update: The most recent trailer clued us in to Jyn's character quite well; in fact, the dialogue laid her basic character traits out for us as “reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined," having been on her own since she was 15 and already having been charged with “forgery of Imperial documents, possession of stolen property, aggravated assault, resisting arrest.” You can't help but like her. [/update]

Though he's not seen in the above image, Ben Mendelsohn had been rumored to be starring in the film for a while before Disney's confirmation. His comments on those reports seemed to suggest otherwise, but perhaps he was just hedging his bets. The latest info we have on his character had him pegged as the film's main villain, and his absence in the above image certainly lends credence to that idea. (Mikkelsen would also make a good villain, but he's not giving anything away that easily.) That same report listed Luna and Ahmed as Rebel fighters, which is certainly supported by the cast image. Let's take a look at their characters.

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Image via Lucasfilm

Luna appears to be decked out for cold weather in this image. His bulky jacket, complete with fur-lined hood, is reminiscent of the one worn by the Rebel fighter Han Solo on the icy planet of Hoth. And while he doesn't look super-pleased to be among the other members gathered for this group shot, he does seem quite comfortable holding that heavy blaster rifle.

Ahmed, on the other hand, has a bit more personality shining through in this only look at his character so far. He's outfitted with quite a bit of gadgetry, from his tech-specs on his forehead, to his many devices and presumably weapons (Is that a thermal detonator in his jacket pocket?) stowed away in various compartments. He also seems to be messing with some sort of device, one he's either tinkering with in order to get back in working shape, or something he's using to help the Rebel gang with their plans. But while we're able to derive some useful information from Ahmed's character's costume, Jiang and Yen's characters are even more telling.

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Image via Lucasfilm
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Image via Lucasfilm

Yen is easily best known for his martial arts work over the years, but if you didn't know that beforehand, you could probably guess as much by looking at this first image of his character from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Yen's fighter appears to be cast in the "blind swordsman" trope, and while you don't waste an athlete/artist of Yen's talent on a character that's afraid to get into a scuffle, I'm hoping that the backstory is convincing enough to make a blind Rebel swordsman convincing in this world.

He's certainly not defenseless, so let's squash that notion right out of the gate. Yen's character is holding a metal-tipped staff/walking stick with a metal grip that you can bet he'll be using to take on the Empire. Equally as interesting is the weapon he has holstered across his back, looking to be some sort of sword. Whether Yen's character ends up being Force-sensitive or able to wield a lightsaber of some sort remains to be seen, but if any of these characters are going to do it, my money's on Yen.

The last of the main characters in this group is Jiang, who appears to be the most heavily armored - if not armed - of the gang. He also sort of resembles a Star Wars version of a samurai, which is a class of characters that has been rumored to appear in this film. And, speaking of rumors, if anyone was going to have something to do with the Mandalorians or their armor, I'd wager on Jiang's character, who appears to have either liberated one of their chest-pieces or crafted his own in a similar design. This is pure speculation at this point, obviously. Regardless of how his character comes into play in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Jiang looks to bring an imposing presence to the screen.

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Image via Lucasfilm

Updates: The latest trailer also brought us the first look at Whitaker's character, a presumed veteran and mentor of sorts who walks with a pronounced limp and deals in the philosophical. His role in the mission remains mysterious but his introduction in this trailer was fantastic. He wears a suit of (power?) armor but walks with the assistance of a cane, suggesting that he was once a powerful warrior who is now resigned to more of a trainer, mentor, and sage. He asks, “What will you do when they catch you? What will you do if they break you? If you continue to fight, what will you become?”

Thanks to Mikkelsen himself, we now know that he's playing Jyn Erso's father. If Star Wars has taught us anything, it's that fathers play a huge role in the mythology. Will this be a continuation of the same or will it be a subversion of the trope? Mikkelsen's keeping that much under wraps for the time being. [/update]

What's It About?

The main crux of the plot of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a little more straightforward thanks to an official tweet from the franchise's official Twitter account:

[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/starwars/status/589857369322037249[/EMBED_TWITTER]

Sounds great, but in order to dig into that a little bit more, we'll take a look at what director Gareth Edwards, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and Lucasfilm’s vice president of development Kiri Hart revealed at "Star Wars Celebration" last April. And what better way to do that than to revisit the teaser trailer that was shown to audiences in attendance. While the trailer hasn't officially been released yet, we do have a pretty decent description of it here:

  • The trailer was made entirely by ILM before the film even started shooting.
  • Obi-Wan’s Voice narrates, “For over a thousand of generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the Dark Times. Before the Empire.”
  • The camera slowly tracks through a heavily forested landscape to reveal the Death Star looming over the horizon of an unknown planet.
  • The final thing we hear is audio of garbled screams over a communications radio.
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Image via Lucasfilm

As you can tell from the above-mentioned synopsis and teaser trailer description, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will take place between Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. As Edwards said during the Celebration, the film actually takes place a bit closer to his favorite film in the Star Wars franchise, the original one that started it all. Originally conceived by George LucasRogue One and the other anthology films will explore more stories that take place within the Star Wars universe, not just those that specifically follow the Skywalker lineage. In fact, one of the most interesting elements of Rogue One is that there are almost no Jedi present since it takes place during a time in which that order is all but extinct.

Further placing the movie within the existing timeline of Star Wars and its current properties, this film is also set in the same time period as the animated series Star Wars Rebels, something Disney/Lucasfilm brass are most definitely aware of. Kennedy was careful to explain that just because this particular film happened to predate the existing trilogy, that doesn't mean all of the anthology films will do the same:

It just so happens to be Rogue One is the precursor to New Hope and, yes, this Han Solo idea but I would not argue that we are setting up any kind of prequel notion with these standalone movies. I think that’s so far just coincidence. And to be perfectly honest, we have changed the order of those at the last minute, so that’s not the intention at all.

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Image via StarWars.com

So while Rogue One will likely feature characters you haven't seen on screen before, or may never have even heard of at all, there's a chance that some major players from the original films will return. There's a rumor that Darth Vader himself will make an appearance, not as the main antagonist, but as a puppet master behind the scenes. Stranger still is the idea that the late Peter Cushing might be virtually resurrected Tupac-style in order to bring Grand Moff Tarkin back to life on screen. Both characters were resurrected for the animated series Star Wars Rebels, so perhaps that's where their stories will appear once again, but there's every possibility they'll also appear in live-action. Disney has the technology; they can revive them.

Update: Darth Vader has yet to be confirmed as a part of the prequel film but common sense suggests that he'll be making an appearance in some fashion. The latest trailer didn't reveal the iconic villain exactly, but the mystery surrounding whoever might be in the presumed Bacta tank has led some to believe it's none other than Anakin Skywalker himself.

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Image via Lucasfilm

Who's Working on It?

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Image via Legendary/Warner Bros.

As we mentioned earlier, Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will be directing the anthology film, with Kathleen Kennedy and Kiri Hart among the film's producers. Hart mentioned that they want directors to be a strong creative force behind each of these anthology films. Edwards was recommended by a number of people to direct and although he was initially reluctant due to being exhausted by working on Godzilla, he "couldn’t sit in a cinema and know someone else made this film.”

Executive producer and story writer John Knoll (from ILM) came up with the original idea for the film, which was one of the first pitches Kennedy heard when she came on board. There's an unconfirmed rumor that Christopher McQuarrie may have taken a look at the script, but if he has, he hasn't received any screenwriting or story credits yet. Those honors go to for his characters, Chris Weitz for his screenplay work, and Gary Whitta for storycraft, alongside Knoll.

There's quite a bit more quality behind-the-scenes talent as well:

  • Director of Photography Greig Fraser worked on Zero Dark Thirty
  • VFX supervisor Neil Corbould worked on Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan.
  • Neil Lamont (Harry Potter series) and Doug Chiang (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace) are production designers.
  • Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat will bring his considerable skills to bear in crafting Rogue One's score
  • Stunt coordinator Rob Inch (World War Z, Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger)
  • Creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan (Prometheus)
  • Co-costume designers Dave Crossman (costume supervisor for the Harry Potter series, Saving Private Ryan) and Glyn Dillon (costume concept artist for Kingsman: The Secret Service, Jupiter Ascending).

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What Will It Look Like?

Aside from the solitary image released so far, we only have a little bit of concept art to on on as far as getting an idea of what the world of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will actually look like. Luckily, we live in a world obsessed with Star Wars, so we also have some descriptions of concept art as described by the few lucky people who witnessed the pieces on display:

  • The art showed 4-5 armored, soldier-like persons on the ground, “with two to three ships in the background.
  • There were tough-looking vehicles too.
  • The ships were fairly dark, and in the background.
  • They weren’t obviously X-Wing Fighters...They “seemed a bit bigger than X-Wings”.
  • “More like a transport ship of sorts” but probably not as big as the Tantive IV (the transport ship we see Darth Vader board at the beginning of A New Hope).
  • The characters were all “generic” looking “wearing the same dark outfit.” “I didn’t see anything that would distinguish them as individuals.”
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Image via StarWars.com

Edwards himself also described the look and tone he was going for:

  • They want the film to feel “real”. Edwards said, “It’s hopefully going to feel very natural and subjective.” He doesn’t want the good guys to be all good, or the bad guys to be all bad. It’s about the shades of grey.

If those concept art descriptions don't get you hyped for the release of the film in theaters, fret not. If Star Wars: The Force Awakens was any indication, we'll be inundated with marketing material leading right up until the film's December 16th release date this year. When Rogue One does roll into theaters, cinephiles and general moviegoers alike will be able to enjoy the film in a variety of formats, including IMAX, of course.

More interestingly, parts of Rogue One will be shot with a large-format, 6K resolution model of Arri’s Alexa 65. Additionally, Edwards and Fraser are combining the Alexa 65 with the Ultra Panavision 70 anamorphic lenses that Quentin Tarantino refurbished for The Hateful Eight (which was shot on 70mm film). Rogue One is also using regular 35mm film for certain sequences.

With everything we know about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it's looking like 2016's most-anticipated film will be like nothing we've seen in the Star Wars universe before.

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