'Star Wars: Rogue One' Plot Details Revealed

Director Gareth Edwards reveals plot of the first Star Wars spin-off.

Story by Matt Cummings

This year's Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California has revealed a bevy of goodness from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, including a second trailer which debuted on Thursday. But Sunday's wrap-up event focused on one of the spin-offs, namely Rogue One starring Felicity Jones. Director Gareth Edwards took to the stage to discuss his participation about a galaxy far, far away.

Among the items featured was this title card - our thanks to SandwichJohn for capturing it - as well as concept art showing an assault team landing during heavy rains:

But the focus of the panel was to discuss details surrounding the plot. Apparently, it will take place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and will be a heist movie in which the plans for the Death Star will be stolen by a group of rebels. He also added that Rogue One won't have clear-cut villains or heroes, remarking that the film's tone will feel like a war film. “It’s about the fact that god’s not coming to save us, and we’re on our own,” said Edwards. “The absence of the Jedi is omnipresent in the film. It hangs over the whole movie.” He went on to confirm that Jones is in fact playing a rebel in the film, and the shooting will commence this summer.

However, it was the following concept footage Edwards premiered that got the audience going:


It's clear that Edwards is going for a similar dark tone that he evoked in 2014's Godzilla. Although the footage revealed the Death Star in close orbit around the jungle planet, we're not sure how much of the film will actually feature the giant planet killer. Edwards was joined by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Head of Development Kiri Hart for the event. During the panel, Moderator Pablo Hidalgo announced that The Force Awakens trailer had been viewed by more than 88 million fans in just the first 24 hours. He also revealed an official logline for the film: "A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a daring mission to steal the Death Star plans."

Director Josh Trank, who is also set to direct a standalone film, was slated to appear with Edwards, but was under the weather and had to bail. Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in theaters on December 16, 2015 while Rogue One blasts off in December 2016.

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