Lucasfilm has unveiled a new behind-the-scenes featurette for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that revolves around the practical feature effects for the film, and they are predictably fantastic. While the chronology of the Star Wars films does not directly correlate to the technology used within them—the prequels, the “oldest” versions of the Star Wars universe, are the most CG-heavy—Rogue One offers an opportunity to populate the world of the film with a bounty of practical creatures given that the story doesn’t involve heroes who are Force-sensitive. Instead, the heroes of Rogue One are simply human rebels out to steal the plans for the Death Star, and according to this featurette, they’ll come across a bevy of different alien species brought to spectacular life by talented craftspeople.

J.J. Abrams brought back a swell focus on practical effects in The Force Awakens, save for the decision to bring Maz Kanata to life via motion-capture. And Rogue One looks to continue on in that tradition, so here’s hoping future Star Wars films like Episode VIII and beyond take advantage of this undervalued art form in today’s world of CG overload.

Check out the new Rogue One featurette below as well as a new TV spot, followed by links to our recent coverage of the film. Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelsen, Donnie Yen, and Alan Tudyk lead the ensemble. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens in theaters on December 16th.

Peruse our recent Rogue One coverage in the links below.

• Gareth Edwards on Filming 'Rogue One' Like a Documentary Embedded in a War Zone
• Early 'Rogue One' Reactions Praise the Action and Alan Tudyk's K-2SO Droid
• New 'Rogue One' Clip and Featurette Offer Glimpses at a Star Wars Story
• 'Rogue One': Gareth Edwards Reveals George Lucas Visited the Set, Offered Advice

And here's the official synopsis for Rogue One:

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.