Gareth Edwards will bring Rogue One, the first of the Star Wars anthology films, to the big screen this December 16th. While we’ve seen the first teaser trailer featuring Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, the director as well as Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy will offer fans more details at what’s coming at Star Wars Celebration Europe.
The news was confirmed today in a press release and an announcement on the first episode of StarWars.com’s new online series, The Star Wars Show. In addition to Edwards and Kennedy, “some special guests” will join them, though it’s unclear who (speculation is welcomed).
Does this mean Lucasfilm will be largely keeping Rogue One away from San Diego Comic-Con this year? While the convention usually features a wide array of panels and film announcements from the various studios, Disney has lately been exploring other options to share updates. Lucasfilm still had a Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel followed by a special concert, but kept the bigger shell-outs for Disney’s D23 Expo and the North American Star Wars Celebration conventions. Similarly, Marvel rented out space in the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood back in 2014 to reveal the Phase Three slate of films, something that typically would’ve been held for Comic-Con.
With Star Wars: Episode 8 not scheduled for release until the end of 2017, it doesn’t seem like the Rian Johnson-helmed film will have a large presence at the Con. So, it’s really up to Rogue One to rep Star Wars at this point. Celebration Europe will take place on July 17, while Comic-Con lasts from July 21 to July 24. It’s possible to have Jones and her fellow cast members fly out for both, but these conventions do cost the studio money. Fans going to Comic-Con, are you worried about this shift?
Rogue One tells of Jyn and her small infiltration team to steal the plans for the Death Star for the Rebel Alliance. Also featured are Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikklesen, Forest Whitaker, Alan Tudyk, and Ben Mendelsohn.
