The second theatrical trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story dropped this past Thursday, and along with it a whole host of new hints to what the film may have in store for us.

Madds Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, NBC’s Hannibal) is revealed as the father of the protagonist Jyn Erso, but more importantly, the architect of the infamous Death Star, Galen Erso. This is massively important-- it means Jyn is out to steal her own father’s plans. The rebellion's reason for recruiting her is much clearer now; they're asking the architect's daughter, not some punk rebel who's been stirring up trouble. But judging by Galen Erso’s speech to a younger Jyn about always being there for her before being apprehended/recruited by what has to be Imperial troops, it's clear the rebellion won't need much to convince Jyn to join their cause.




Galen makes several more appearances in the trailer, all in which he is much older and dressed in imperial garb. Meanwhile, Jyn Erso is shown multiple times in an imperial cell, and seems to be confused when the rebels first inform them of the Death Star and the plans her father made. This shows that Jyn has been living on her own for quite some time, clearly not as on board with the Imperials as her father-- a rebel even as a daughter. That being said, there are multiple scenes in which Galen is shown in distress and disarray, (possibly being tortured in one shot-- unsurprising considering the Empire's track record of employee treatment) so it's entirely possible that Mikkelsen will not be portraying a villain (as those of us familiar with the actor are very familiar with). For all we know, everything he's doing may really be, in his mind, all for the safety of his daughter.



It's clear this movie is going to mix up father and daughter in a way neither intended, with Jyn mounting a team to steal the plans while Galen Erso is on board (presumably) the Death Star itself. With the spotlight taken from the Jedi for this particular film, many theorize this will be a "grounded" (well, as grounded as you can get in a sci-fi laserfest involving space wizards) heist-style film, with the climax of the movie being the attempt to steal the Death Star plans, and inevitably, a face to face conflict between Jyn and her father (with the fearsome Darth Vader thrown into the mix).



Unfortunately, we won't know any more about the film until its release-- all we can do now is wait.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be in theaters December 16th.