It’s not been officially confirmed yet that Darth Vader will make an appearance in Rogue One, but the Sith Lord is heavily rumored to show up at some point – and judging by the multiple references to and appearances by the force-user formerly known as Anakin Skywalker in the film’s Visual Story Guide, it’s a fair bet that he will appear in the movie. Other villains in Rogue One, as detailed above, include:
– Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), the “Director of the Imperial Military” who seeks “to protect and serve the Galactic Empire.” Krennic was also glimpsed in pursuit of the film’s heroes in the Rogue One teaser trailer.
– The classic foot-soldiers known as Stormtroopers, described as being “elite Empire soldiers” (insert your preferred stormtrooper joke here).
– Death Troopers, a class of “elite Empire soldiers” that will make their big screen debut in Rogue One. It’s not clear yet exactly what sets Death Troopers apart from Stormtroopers, beyond the aesthetic differences in their armor color and helmet designs.
It’s also worth noting that although Emperor Palpatine is mentioned in the above Rogue One villain breakdown, it’s remains to be seen if the character (who has been played by Ian McDiarmid in previous live-action Star Wars movies) will appear in Rogue One or not. However, there is a mysterious hooded figure dressed in black robes that can be seen briefly in the Rogue One teaser trailer, but they didn’t appear to be either Vader or Palpatine. Could they be another dark force user, perhaps even one of the Inquisitors that were introduced in the Star Wars Rebels animated TV series?
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the first live-action movie set in a galaxy far, far away that doesn’t primarily revolve around the Skywalker family in some form. Instead, Godzilla director Gareth Edwards’ upcoming standalone/anthology film will revolve around a different set of characters that exist in the Star Wars universe – though, it’s been confirmed that certain “iconic” characters of Star Wars lore will make an appearance in the movie, starting with the cameo by key Rebel Alliance figure Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) in the Rogue One teaser trailer.
Rogue One takes place not too long before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, as a group of Rebels undertake an extremely dangerous mission: to find and steal the plans to the Galactic Empire’s deadly super-weapon, the Death Star, in the hopes of finding a weakness in its design that can be exploited. Although we (naturally) know that the mission will be a success, we don’t know which of the film’s main heroes will make it out of the mission alive (if any of them do); much less, what their names are, save for their leader, the scrappy young rebel Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones). Until now, that is.
Edelweiss (hat tip to /Film) has now released a preview for the upcoming “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: The Official Visual Story Guide” that Media Lab Books will release on January 24th, 2017. The 164-page book will contain 130 full-color photos as well as “in-depth character profiles, iconic vehicles, weaponry and droids you’ve been looking for,” but you can now check out some of those details online, several months ahead of time.
The costumes for Rogue One were designed by Michael Kaplan, who also designed the armor/outfits in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and is currently working on Star Wars: Episode VIII. Moreover, we now have official details and names for the heroes in Edwards’ Star Wars spinoff, each of whom is described as being part of “the rogue band of resistance fighters [who are] prepared to steal the Death Star plans and bring new hope to the galaxy [but] will have to enter battle against the evil forces of the Empire.” Here are the characters’ individual names, for those who can’t quite make the details out:
– Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is “a highly-skilled soldier and warrior.”
– Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is “a Rebel Alliance officer” whose full title is Captain Cassian Andor.
–Baze (Jiang Wen) is “a freelance assassin.”
– Chirrut (Donnie Yen) is “a spiritual warrior.”
The Rogue One heroes squad also includes the non-humans Pao and Bistan, both of whom are described as being a “fierce warrior,” but at this time it’s not known which actor(s) will be bringing the pair of them to life in the film. There’s also no mention of Forest Whitaker’s Rogue One character (who was featured prominently in the movie’s teaser trailer), though it’s rumored that Whitaker is playing someone who is not strictly a member of the Rebel Alliance, but has a long combat history that may extend back to the Clone Wars (hence his battle-scarred appearance and limp).
The Enforcer Droid K-250, who it seems is the motion-capture character being portrayed by Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Con Man) in Rogue One, is described as being a “Galactice Empire security droid,” complete with photoreceptor units, auditory sensors, and vocabuator. Plot-wise, the implication here appears to be that at some point during the Rogue One script by Chris Weitz (Cinderella (2015)) and Gary Whitta (After Earth), K-250 is captured and re-programmed by the Rebel Alliance to help the Rogue One squad in their mission to capture the Death Star’s plans (which are, no doubt, protected by extreme security measures).
The Rebel Starfighters in Rogue One are described as being Rebel starfighter vehicles that “balance speed with the firepower of proton torpedo launchers.” In addition to the classic A-wing and X-Wing design (the latter of which is seen below), that includes the U-Wing, featured above. Said vehicle includes laser canons, S-foil wing assembly abilities, and fusial thrust engines.
Above, we have the schematics to the original Death Star featured in Rogue One, complete with its Superlaser Focus Lens – one of the “most integral pieces” of the weapon capable of destroying entire planets. Rogue One costar Mads Mikkelsen has confirmed that he will be playing Jyn Erso’s father in the film, though rumor has it his character is also an Imperial scientist who perfected the original Genosian Death Star plans (glimpsed in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones). Thereafter, upon realizing what a terrible thing he’s actually done, Mikkelsen’s character reportedly attempts to atone for his sins by helping his daughter on her mission to capture the Death Star plans and uncover a weakness within its design.
