With only four months to go, Lucasfilm finally dropped the final official trailer for the hotly anticipated “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”. This film centers around rebel spies stealing the plans for the Death Star, and takes place chronologically before the original 1977 Star Wars. The creative team behind this new film has said that they wanted to take a different approach to a Star Wars movie, making it more like a war film instead of the science fantasy space opera we are used to. Based on this last trailer’s stunning cinematography and mystery, I'm excited to see how different this movie turns out. Here are my top five favorite moments from the trailer!
1. Donnie Yen, Blind Badass 0:56
As with most of the details surrounding this movie, very little is known about Donnie Yen’s character Chirrut Imwe. The blind warrior monk may have some connection to the recently destroyed Jedi order, but what is clear is that he will be a force to be reckoned with. In all honesty, I think martial arts movie fans will show up just to see Ip Man with lasers!
2. K-2SO, Your new wisecracking robot pal! 1:03
I don’t know much about the new droid K-2SO, except that every kid is going to want his action figure for Christmas. For most of the shots he is in, I can't tell if the character is CGI or a real puppet. One of the most memorable and impressive things about the original trilogy was the practical effects used for all the the robots and aliens. One of the biggest flaws with the Prequel Trilogy was the overuse of CGI and a lack of practical effects or sets. Thankfully, Rogue One will be more like “The Force Awakens”, using real puppets or costumes first, and using CGI as a way to blend the real world with the fantasy.
3. “I feel a great disturbance in the Force…” 1:08
This is by far the trailer’s best still shot. There is something so ominous about the Death Star looming over an unsuspecting planet. Along with the opening shot of an Imperial Star Destroyer hovering over an unidentified desert building, you really get a sense of how much power the Empire has. What makes the period between episodes 3 and 4 so interesting thematically is that it's all about the Empire swiftly and brutally engulfing the galaxy.
4. David vs. Goliath 1:34
I chose this moment for two reasons: it shows us how the action is going to look and also shows the futility of the Rebel’s fight. The director Gareth Edwards has said that he wanted to make first and foremost a war film. Instead of Jedi flipping around with light sabers, this movie is going to center more around the boots on the ground soldiers of the Rebellion. With people going up against an AT-AT, something that normally takes multiple ships to take down, you can really see just from this short clip that it is a battle against incredible odds.
5. *Ominous robotic breathing sounds* 1:56
Darth Vader returns to the big screen! After being on screen for a brief moment at the end of Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader makes his triumphant return as Dark Lord of the Sith. James Earl Jones is returning to voice the character that he made so famous in 1977. It's still unclear how large a role Darth Vader will play in “Rogue One”, but it's exciting to see him show up none the less!
