You’ve probably been reading a lot about The Force Awakens, but there’s another movie in the works that may have stayed off of your radar. It’s called Rogue One, and it’s the first of the standalone Star Wars movies promised by Disney, which are now going under the collective title of Star Wars Anthology.
The movie focuses on a Rebel team who sets out to steal the Death Star plans. We know that Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) is attached to direct, and that Felicity Jones (Theory of Everything) will play a main character.
Both Riz Ahmed (who played in Nightcrawler opposite Jake Gyllenhall) and Sam Claflin (Finnick from the Hunger Games movies) are rumored to be under consideration for male leads.
That’s really all we know so far. At the end of Star Wars Celebration 2015, where we saw the debut of the second trailer for The Force Awakens, we also got to see a quick teaser for Rogue One. It doesn’t give much away about the movie, but there’s a pretty cool visual at the end.
Possibly the most interesting facet of this movie is that it’s not likely to feature many (or possibly any) Jedi or Sith. This is a Star Wars movie away from the “magic” of the Force, which is a place where Star Wars doesn’t tend to go. There’s been talk about how this will make it a more “real” film where the characters aren’t simply waiting for an all-powerful hero to come save them.
As for what this will do to the “Star Wars-ness” of the movie, no one can say. But it does seem likely that it will be very different from the films that we’re used to. Some commentators have speculated that it will feel more like a traditional war movie, which is a side of the Star Wars universe that we don’t often get.
Obviously, Star Wars without Jedi is still Star Wars—there have been a lot of novels that focus on the less Force-attuned characters in the universe, and they’ve been quite good. But it when seven movies have focused on the Skywalker / Solo storyline, it will be very strange to see a movie without them.
It’s possible that Edwards will take advantage of this fact to turn Rogue One into something uniquely his own; it could potentially play on the war movie motif and go for a grittier style or a more emotionally compelling plot.
But with the movie still a year and a half away, pretty much everything is wild speculation. What do you think of the rumors we’ve heard about Rogue One so far? And how do you feel about a Star Wars movie without Jedi? Share your thoughts below!
