A jungle world. TIEs fly overhead. In the sky above… a space station. The Death Star.
That’s the promo for Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One, a gritty war movie with cinematography by Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty) and production design by Doug Chiang and Neil Lamont (Edge of Tomorrow) from a story by John Knoll. It’s about the ordinary men and women (such as the Rebel soldier played by Felicity Jones) who steal the plans to the Death Star in the lead-up to Star Wars: A New Hope.
This is the first in the Star Wars Anthology Series, and it’s the shape of things to come. In the same way The Clone Wars allowed us glimpses of the larger Star Wars universe, the Anthology Series will allow for broader storytelling opportunities: war movies, westerns, film noir, etc.
Here’s some concept art from the panel:
Folks, this has been an amazing weekend. In just over two years, we’ll have seen not one, not two but three new Star Wars films. The Force Awakens looks amazing, Rogue One has an exciting concept and a great team behind it, and Episode VIII has Rian Johnson at the helm. If that’s not all, we have more Marvel comics coming, more Del Rey books and what looks to be a stellar season of Rebels on the horizon.
Star Wars always had the potential to exist on this scale, but it was too much for one man. But people like Kathleen Kennedy, Pablo Hidalgo, Dave Filoni and Simon Kinberg are making this dream possible, taking the universe seriously while expanding on it in a way that stays true to the spirit of the original trilogy. As Kinberg recently noted, this isn’t about cynical cross-promotion but rather the notion that each story inform—and be informed by—the larger Star Wars mythology. And Rogue One may yet tie into Rebels and vice versa.
Star Wars will be with us… always.
Star Wars Always 