‘Star Wars: Rogue One’: Everything We Know (So Far)
The Force has Awakened, and we won’t find out what happens for another 600 or so days. But another Star Wars movie will be out later this year:Star Wars: Rogue One(or is itRogue One: A Star Wars Story?) will hit theaters in December 2016, and we’re excited (Peter,Angie,Jacob,JackandEthanall listed the film in their most anticipated films of the year). But what do we know aboutRogue One? I have compiled everything we know, have seen, and/or have heard rumored, and more, after the jump.
What Is Rogue One About?
Rogue Oneis set between the filmsStar Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the SithandStar Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, during the Age of the Empire. The official plot description follows:
We had initially broken the storyaboutRogue One’s plot, but at the time we were told that it was a bunch of bounty hunters who were hired by the Rebel Alliance to take on a heist for the Death Star plans.
What Genre Will the Rogue One Story Be?
When I talked to Lucasfilm headKathleen Kennedyat theForce Awakensjunket, shesaid"the standalone films can be a wide variety of genres inside the Star Wars universe." When asked ifRogue Onewas Lucasfilm’s heist movie, Kennedy said, “It is to a certain extent.” This is kind of like the approach that Marvel Studios has been taking with their films, withWinter Soldierbeing a conspiracy thriller andAnt-Manbeing a comedic heist film.
Lucasfilm Story Group headKiri HarthasdescribedRogue Oneas a “period piece”:
In the case ofRogue One, we’re essentially making a period piece. The benefit of making additional episodes that move forward on the timeline is that we are making new space for ourselves.
Kennedy also told me that they are hiring the filmmakers likeGareth Edwardsbecause they want to bring a “different sensibility” from the Star Wars saga films. ActorMads Mikkelsenechoes that statement in anotherinterview, saying that the film will give us a different view of theStar Warsuniverse: “It’s still the Star Wars universe, but there is… There might be a personal take on that from Gareth, as well.”
More to the point, Edwards has calledRogue Oneas “a war movie.”
Who Wrote Rogue One?
John Knoll:The Industrial Light and Magic visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer has a long history withStar Wars, having supervised VFX on the Special Editions and prequels. After Lucasfilm decided they would be making spin-off movies outside of the episodic saga films, they heard pitches from a lot of creatives including some people within the company. Knoll came up with the idea forRogue Onewhen he began to think about the kinds of stories he would like to see told within the Star Wars franchise. He pitched it to people within Lucasfilm, which resulted in a meeting with Kathleen Kennedy and Kiri Hart where he gave a 20-minute pitch for the movie.Gary Whitta:A video game journalist who was launched into the screenwriting world, Gary Whitta wrote the Hughes Brothers’The Book of Eliand M. Night Shyamalan and Will Smith’sAfter Earth. You can read our extensive five-part interview series with Whittahere. He was the first screenwriter hired for this project, but after completing a first draft he moved on to 20th Century Fox’s adaptation of Mark Millar’sStarlight.Chris Weitz:The screenwriter who replaced Whitta onRogue Oneis best known as the co-director and co-writer, with his brother Paul Weitz, of the Oscar-nominated adaptationAbout a Boy. Weitz also wrote Kenneth Branagh’s live-action adaptation ofCinderellafor Disney. His other directing credits includeThe Golden Compass(which he also scripted),The Twilight Saga: New Moon, andA Better Life.Christopher McQuarrie:In January 2016, it wasrumoredthat McQuarrie was quietly hired to polish the screenplay as shooting began. McQuarrie is one of Hollywood’s top script doctors (for example, he helped Paramount getWorld War Z’s third act back on track), and the Oscar-winning screenwriter ofThe Usual Suspectshas recently risen as a strong director behind such films asJack ReacherandMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Its unlikely that McQuarrie will be credited as a third screenwriter on the film, but the reports going around claim that he was brought in to save the movie.
Who Is Directing Rogue One?
Gareth Edwardswasannouncedas the director on May 22nd, 2014, just a week after his first big-budget film hit theaters nationwide. Edwards was a visual effects guy who made a name for himself for the low-budget filmMonsters, which he wrote, directed and served on as cinematographer and visual effects artist. That film was enough to get him the job as director ofGodzillafor Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros, and his pitch impressed Disney and Lucasfilm brass.
Edwards released the following statement when the news was announced: “Ever since I sawStar WarsI knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life – join the Rebel Alliance! I could not be more excited & honored to go on this mission with Lucasfilm.”
Who Is Starring in Rogue One?
Felicity Jonesis playing a Rebel soldierwho might be namedLyra Erso. The Oscar-nominated actress has appeared in films as varied asThe Theory of Everything,The Amazing Spider-Man 2, andLike Crazy. Edwards has said that he “wanted to see fear, humor, and warmth” in the character, and not just a cliched image of a warrior. Rumor has it that other actresses testing for the role includedTatiana Maslany,Rooney Mara, andKate Mara. Another rumorclaimsthat her character is the daughter of Mads Mikkelsen’s character.Diego Lunais also playing a Rebel soldier. Luna first hit the mainstream with a starring role in Alfonso Cuarón’sY Tu Mamá Tambien. Since then, he’s worked with Steven Spielberg, Gus Van Sant, Harmony Korine and many more.Riz Ahmedis also playing a Rebel soldier,possibly namedBodhi Rook. Liz has starred inFour Lions,NightcrawlerandThe Road to Guantanamo.Jiang Wenis playing an unknown character. The Chinese actor isn’t terribly familiar to U.S. audiences, but he did gain some international attention for his role in Zhang Yimou’s directorial debutRed Sorghum. He later reunited with the filmmakerKeep Cool. Jiang’s other credits includeLet the Bullets FlyandGone With the Bullets, which he also directed. He additionally helmed a segment in the American anthology filmNew York, I Love You.Mads Mikkelsenwasn’t present in the “good guys” cast photo and since he is known for the villainous roles he has played inCasino Royaleand theHannibaltelevision series, many people speculated that he might play a bad guy inRogue One. But according to the actor, that is not the case. The Danish actor says he has “a very important role.” His character may be named “Galen,” as the actorsigned the nameon aRogue Oneposter. The video gameThe Force Unleashedfeatured a very powerful Force user namedGalen Marekas the main character, but the character is not expected to be related to Mikkelsen’s.Another report claimshis character is an Robert Oppenheimer-type – the Imperial scientist chiefly responsible for getting the final Death Star fully functional. However, his guilt over building the ultimate weapon of mass destruction forces him to reconsider his allegiances.Alan Tudykis playing a performance-capture character, which we suspect is an alien or android. Tudyk is a favorite of sci-fi audiences, having starred inFirefly/SerenityandI, Robot. He also voiced the Duke of Weselton in Disney’sFrozen.Forest Whitakeris an Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles inPlatoon,The Last King of Scotland,Lee Daniels' The Butler,Panic Room,Species,Good Morning Vietnamand many more films.Ben Mendelsohnis expected to be playing a villain of some kind. Mendelsohn is currently starring in Netflix’sBloodlinebut was also seen inAnimal Kingdom, The Place Beyond the Pines, and had a small role inThe Dark Knight Rises, among other films.Donnie Yensays he is playing"a good and benevolent character," but we don’t know anything more about his role. The Hong Kong action star most notably played Yip Man in the 2008 filmIp Man. He is credited for helping popularize the traditional martial arts style known as Wing Chun. Edwards was supposedly looking at a number of Chinese actors for a role in the spin-off, a list thatreportedly includedJet Li, Stephen Chow, Tony Leung, Chiu Wai, Daniel Wu, Wang LeehomandChang Chen.Jonathan Aris(BBC’sSherlock,The World’s End)is playing a character named Senator Jebel.
Not in the movie:Sam Claflinwas initiallyreportedas “the frontrunner for one of the ensemble roles.”
Have Any Official Rogue One Photos Been Released?
At the2015 D23 Expo, Lucasfilm released the above first look cast photo forRogue One, which features (left to right) Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen.
How About Rogue One Concept Art?
Disney’sBob Igerreleased the above piece ofRogue Oneconcept art, first at an investors' meeting in March and then later to the public.
Anthology Film or A Star Wars Story?
When the Star Wars spin-off films were first announced, they were branded as “Anthology films” but later at D23 Expo 2015, Disney decided to rebrand the category as “A Star Wars Story.” You can see a photo of Disney’s Alan Horn on stage talking about the new branding. The change was made without any big fanfare or comment, which has led to some confusion amongst fans and press as to what to refer to the stand-alone movies as.
When Will Rogue One Be Released?
Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis scheduled to hit theaters onDecember 16, 2016.
What’s in the Title Rogue One?
ThoughStar Wars: Rogue Onewas from an idea from ILM employeeJohn Knoll, it seems initial writerGary Whittacame up with the name. The title was revealed duringa Disney shareholders callby company head Bob Iger, who called the movie “the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the coreStar Warssaga.”
We don’t know what “Rogue One” specifically refers to, of course, so with an answer comes more questions. The prevailing thought seems to be it refers to X-Wing fighters. But why is that?Uproxxhas a very concise history and backstory of the word “Rogue” means in the Star Wars canon, and how it relates to X-Wing pilots.
Just a few days after Disney announced theRogue Onetitle, Paramount released thefirst teaser and the final titlefor the newMission: Impossiblemovie,Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Jokes flew immediately about the similar titles, but as it turns out there was someback-room dealingbetween the two studios over the similar titles. Paramount registered theRogue Nationtitle months before, and Disney’s end of the bargain involved agreeing to hold off on any early promotion ofRogue Oneuntil later in the year afterRogue Nationhit theaters.
We haveheardthatLunak Heavy Industriesis the top secret production company name forRogue One. The code name for the film wasLos Alamos, likely a reference to the the town where physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer designed the first nuclear bomb.
The official trademark Lucasfilmrequestedfor that film isStar Wars Rogue One, not justRogue One(though they surely have that as well). It seems likely the official title is “Star Wars: Rogue One,” like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” or “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.”
What Is This Teaser Trailer?
At Star Wars Celebration, Gareth Edwards surprised the crowd with a teaser trailer for the film which was cut especially for the convention.
As he speaks, the teaser fades in on a tracking shot, high up through a forested canyon. We hear a TIE Fighter pass overhead, and see the ship move forward into frame as the camera continues to push forward. We see, dominating the sky, the outline of what could be a moon. But that’s no moon, it’s a… well, you know what it is. The Death Star. Music swells and the screen goes black. TheRogue Onelogo comes up, and we hear radio voices, like troops communicating during combat. The chatter gets more frantic and loud as light strobes on the logo, which finally breaks up as the sound cuts out.
Will Rogue One Feature Any Jedi?
Rogue Oneis set in a time when the Jedi are basically extinct, and director Gareth Edwards hassaidthere are no warriors with “magical powers” to save the day.
Who Is Felicity Jones Playing in Rogue One?
As of right now, we don’t know. Disney has said that Jones plays “a Rebel soldier,” but there have been many rumors floating around including:
All of these rumors/theories are interesting because if she is of Mandalorian heritage, this would explain why we initially heard that it was a group of bounty hunters hired by the Rebel Alliance to pull off the Death Star heist. Remember, we were the ones thatbroke the scoopaboutRogue One’s story.
Is Diego Luna Playing Biggs Darklighter?
Is there a chance that Diego Luna is playingBiggs DarklighterinStar Wars: Rogue One? Both characters share a similar look, including that sweet mustache. But this theory seems pretty weak for now. Darklighter has a history with Luke Skywalker, asA New Hopeestablishes that the two of them were childhood friends on Tatooine. Biggs left to join the Academy before Luke did. If you want more information on Biggs Darklighter, check out hisWookieepedia entry right here.
Will Rogue One Feature Characters From The Force Awakens?
Over a year beforeStar Wars: The Force Awakenswas released, I was told by good sources thatMax VonSydow’scharacter inEpisode 7would be an older version of a character from one of the standalone movies.
But inForce Awakens, we learn very little about Von Sydow’s character. We only know that Poe Dameron was tasked by General Organa to find an old ally of hers who holds information about her brother’s whereabouts, and that man is a guy named Lor San Tekka. TheVisual Dictionarytells us the following:
As the empire toppled, retreating Imperial officials destroyed records that would have been vital to the New Republic’s attempts at Galactic reconstruction. New Republic bureaucrats turned instead to firsthand accounts from well-traveled locals to fill in the gaps. A seasoned traveler and explorer of the more remote fringes of the galaxy, Lor San Tekka has proven his worth to the New Republic and Resistance many times over. Ready to retire after decades of exploration and adventure, the spiritual San Tekka has settled with a colony of villagers in the remote Kelvin Ravine on the frontier world of Jakku.
The StarWars.com official databank also offers the following about the character:
A legendary traveler and explorer, Lor San Tekka is a longtime ally of the New Republic and the Resistance. After the Battle of Endor, San Tekka helped Luke Skywalker recover secret Jedi lore that the Empire had tried to erase, and Leia Organa hopes the old scout can now help find her brother. Following decades of adventure, San Tekka retired to live simply on Jakku, where he follows the dictates of the once-forbidden Church of the Force. But his retirement is fated to be anything but peaceful.
San Tekka also says of General Leia that “she’ll always be royalty to me” which insinuates that he knew Leia beforeA New Hope. What if Lor San Tekka is one of the main characters inRogue One? The official descriptions mention his time as a former Scout, which might fit into theRogue Onestory.
At one point a rumor was going around that he would be playing an older version of Boba Fett, which would have fit in with the standalone film Lucasfilm was developing focusing on the infamous bounty hunter. While we’ve seen no evidence of that, it should be noted that theArt Ofbook shows early concepts of the character which incorporated costume elements from Boba Fett.
@chrisweitz Happy to assist artistic creativity. Especially when the cosmos serves as the artist’s muse. What’s the question?
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson)June 29, 2025
Neil deGrasse Tyson Might Get a Consultant Credit
WriterChris WeitzaskedNeil deGrasse Tysonfor help with a astronomy question for the film, and Tyson agreed to help out. Tyson might get a consultant credit, or at very least, a thank you in the end credits.
Who Is the Bad Guy?
We have been told thatBen Mendelsohnis expected to be playing a villain of some kind. We don’t know the film’s main antagonist yet, but it’s been reported thatDarth Vaderwill make some sort of appearance in the film.
Darth Vader will appear inRogue One, but he will not be the film’s main antagonist. According to therumors, the Sith lord will “be working behind the scenes, pulling strings and will appear onscreen” … “via viewscreen or holo projection or something.” Its also been rumored thatJames Earl Joneswill return to speak Darth Vader’s lines.
Who will be the villain inStar Wars: Rogue One? We don’t know. The prime suspect from Star Wars canon would be Grand Moff Tarkin, the commander of the fully operational Death Star fromStar Wars: A New Hope. There is always the possibility that the villain will be someone we’ve never seen or heard of before.
We might see some version ofShadow Stormtroopersin the spin-off. They may not be called that, but apparently there have been some black Stormtroopers with silver eyepiecesspotted on set.
Will Han Solo Appear in the Film?
When we broke the news of whatRogue Onewould be about, one detail we reported didn’t make much sense: we were told that the Millennium Falcon, but probably not Han Solo, would play a role in the story. Filming has completed onRogue One, and the trades are now reporting onwho might be playing Han Solo in the Phil Lord/Chris Miller film.
But isn’t it a little early to cast for a film that is that far out? Even the trades have heard a rumor that the casting might be required as Han Solo could play a very small role inRogue One. Of course,Rogue One, as far as we know, takes place just beforeA New Hope, so Han Solo wouldn’t look too much younger than he does in that film.
Gareth Edwards Used VR to Help Visualize Rogue One
ILMxLab, the VR and augmented reality think-tank from Industrial Light & Magic has beeninvolved in the developmentofRogue One. Director Gareth Edwards has been using an xLab Oculus Rift set-up to help designStar Wars: Rogue One.
What Format Did the Film Shoot On?
While the new Star Wars saga films have been shooting on 35mm film (with a 70mm IMAX sequence),Rogue One’s director of photographyGreig Fraserfilmed at least some sequences with a brand new, 6K resolution Arri Alexa 65 camera. And the DP also used some of the brand new, 70mm lenses Panavision created for Quentin Tarantino forThe Hateful Eight. Here is aquick primerfrom our previous piece on the topic:
The advantage of 65mm film and large-format IMAX film is that there is a larger surface area to capture the image, resulting is finer and more detailed footage. The Alexa 65 is an attempt to create a digital camera that has the same effect, but with all the advantages of digital. The Ultra Panavision 70 lenses used by Robert Richardson onThe Hateful Eightyield an extremely wide aspect ratio of 2.76:1 when used with a 65mm capture area, which is wider than the widest standard anamorphic widescreen ratio of 2.39:1.
Who Will Score Rogue One?
Star Warsfranchise composerJohn Williamswill not be composing the score for the Star Wars spin-offs. Instead, Academy Award winnerAlexandre Desplatwillcomposethe score forStar Wars Rogue One.
Desplat won his first Oscar for Wes Anderson’sThe Grand Budapest Hotel, although he was also nominated this year for his work onThe Imitation Game. His credits includeArgo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The King’s Speech, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The QueenandZero Dark Thirty.
How About Set Photos?
During the filming, a bunch of set photos fromStar Wars: Rogue Onehave hit the web from Cardington. None of the set photos reveal anything big storewide — we’ve seen practically built New Hope era X-Wings and a stone wall with vines which call back to Yavin 4. You can see the set photoshere,here,here,here, andhere.
Where Did Rogue One Film?
Rogue Onebegan filming on July 1st, 2015 and concluded their filming the same day thatStar Wars: The Force Awakenshit theaters in mid-December 2015.
Lucasfilm and Disney have a very long deal with Pinewood to film most of the upcoming Star Wars films in London, andRogue Onewas one of the movies that shot at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, in Buckinghamshire, England, UK.
We also know they filmed at Mýrdalssandur beach in southern Iceland, specifically, “by the mountains Hjörleifshöfði and Hafursey, east of the village of Vík,” which is known for its black sand beaches. Also at Pymmes Park in Edmonton, London; RAF Cardington; and Laamu Atoll, an archipelago nation located in the Republic of Maldives (which might look like a gorgeous tropical island).
When Will We See the First Real Trailer?
Rumor has itthe first official trailer will play in front ofCaptain America: Civil War, which is another Disney release. And it certainly helps that bothCivil WarandRogue Oneare IMAX releases, as IMAX movies typically have only trailers for other IMAX movies attached to them (at least on IMAX screens).
Rogue One Will Feature More Droids
R2-D2 Builders Clubmembers andStar WarsfansOliver SteeplesandLee Towerseyhad their dreams come true when they were hired to create new astromech droids forStar Wars: The Force Awakens.Now it seems they’re already hard at work onStar Wars: Rogue One. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that R2-D2 is in theStar Wars Anthologyfilm, because the duo worked on a variety of astromech droids in the new film in addition to our favorite feisty droid.
Will Rogue One Set Up the Knights of Ren?
The above image has beenmaking its way around the internet, suggesting thatRogue One’s group of soldiers might later become the Knights of Ren.Adam Driverhassaidthat the Knights of Ren “was a group that existed before” [Kylo Ren]. Some of the weapons look the same, but even Rey has a staff. Sure, this one looks more like the one we saw in the Knights of Ren shot fromThe Force Awakens, but it seems like it could just be a coincidence. And besides, Edwards has saidRogue Onewon’t feature any Jedi or Force powers, which pretty much rules out this theory, assuming the Knights of Ren are Force-sensitive.
Will Jabba the Hutt Appear?
Special effects wizardsNeal ScanlanandChris Corbould, the lead creature designer and special effects supervisor onStar Wars: The Force Awakensrespectively,recently spokeat a British Academy of Film and Television Arts event and revealed that a certain iconic villain may be returning to the big screen. Scanlan, whose next project isRogue One: A Star Wars Story, suggested the potential resurrection of a certain slimy crime boss:
There is a huge amount of secrecy around all of the films and we never really know exactly what the characters are until way way down the line. We have heard rumours of all different characters coming back and I had heard Jabba The Hutt, but to be honest I cannot confirm that one way or the other, It is certainly not on the cards quite yet.
Seems like a weird quote, especially from some people creatively working on the film.
Could Rogue One Feature Star Wars' First LGBT Character?
Star Warscanon gotits first LGBT characterin the form of Moff Mors, who made her debut inPaul S. Kemp’s novelStar Wars: Lords of the Sith. And it has beenrumoredthat Moff Mors might appear inRogue One. Here is a description of the character:
What Can We Expect in Terms of Alien Creatures?
Rogue Onecreature designer Neal Scanlan has revealed that director Gareth Edwards wanted a different flavor of creature thanJ.J. Abrams:
Unlike most of the 110 creatures that were built forThe Force Awakensand only appeared onscreen for a few seconds, Scanlan says that the aliens ofRogue Onefrequently play a vital role in the plot and required a new level of detail and realism:
They move more realistically, they’re able to emote more than maybe the characters that we did for ‘The Force Awakens.’ So they’re a closer part of the storytelling. They’re less of the world, and they’re more of this group who have a mission, and play a part in that.
