We are now less than one month away from the release of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" in theaters. If you're like me, then you probably have it written down in your calendar. December 16. If you're not like me, then you should. "Rogue One" is going to be a breath of fresh air in the Star Wars franchise and movie worth making.
"Rogue One" takes place between Episodes 3 and 4 in the Star Wars Saga, but very close to Episode 4. As Director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) describes it, "Rogue One" is the story of the opening crawl of "A New Hope".
"Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans"
However, this movie isn't being made just for the sake of tacking onto a famous film franchise to makes lots of money, which is a common thing in Hollywood. Rogue One is going to be something completely new for Star Wars.
A popular opinion on last year's "Star Wars The Force Awakens" was that it was too similar to the original Star Wars. "Rogue One" will not have that problem. According to all of the trailers and the statements of the filmmakers involved with the movie, "Rogue One" is a war movie. It's a movie about soldiers and about humanity. All of the trailers show gritty, more realistic action sequences (as realistic as science fiction can go). The problem with Star Wars is not that it's not realistic enough. It is that it can get bogged down by the same thing over and over again. That's why it is important for these Spin Off stories. As Edwards says in behind the scenes footage, "you have to take risks...or what are you bringing to the table?" That's the toughest thing studios have with sequels and spin-offs: making something new. And the best thing to bring to the Star Wars Universe is a movie about the humanity in war. It'll make for an interesting story.
"Rogue One" also has an incredible cast. A cast that includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, and Forest Whitaker. And they all look perfect in their roles. And I have to mention how diverse the cast is. It's unfortunate that we have to praise when a major Hollywood movie has a racially diverse cast. Hopefully one day we won't have to think about it because it will be inherent. but, for now, I applaud the filmmakers for casting such a diverse group of people seamlessly.
In a year of disappointing blockbusters including "Batman vs Superman", "Suicide Squad", "X-men Apocalypse," "Independence Day Resurgence", "Warcraft", etc, "Rogue One" is a blockbuster that I'm eagerly anticipating. It's only Director Gareth Edwards third feature film, yet I have complete faith in him. His 2014 feature Godzilla was criticized for not having enough Godzilla. but, he made a movie about people and that made me connect with it more. I'm excited for what he has to bring to Star Wars. This looks like a movie that no one has seen the likes of before. Rogue One looks like it could possibly one of, if not the best Star Wars movie made yet.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story releases in theaters nationwide on December 16.
