STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE / Disney, Lucasfilm
This weekend at the D23 Expo in Anaheim California, Disney has officially announced that their first STAR WARS spin-off film ROGUE ONE directed by Gareth Edwards has begun filming. And to celebrate, they showed off the very first cast image featuring Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen (above). This is definitely a grittier side to the STAR WARS universe when juxtaposed with the bright and shiny polish of the prequel trilogy, CLONE WARS, and REBELS. I definitely get the feeling that this film will feel a lot more grounded while hopefully still hinting at some of the magic the STAR WARS films have. Either way looks pretty cool to me so far.
Besides the characters above, Disney also reveled some new cast members including Mads Mikkelsen (HANNIBAL), Ben Mendelsohn (BLOODLINE), Forest Whitaker (BATTLEFIELD EARTH), and Alan Tudyk (FIREFLY). Sounds like a pretty fun cast being pulled together if you as me.
Also of note was the new logo image for the film that curiously changes the previous “Anthology” subtitle to “A STAR WARS Story”. Hmmm. Not sure if that’s better or worse. I just hope they make up their mind and stick with one or the other from here on out. Check out the new title below.
STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE / Disney, Lucasfilm
Here’s a brief rundown of what to expect from Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy for those not privy:
“Rogue One takes place before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar to the Star Wars universe,” …“It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential Star Wars feel that fans have come to know. Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for Rogue One.”
ROGUE ONE (A STAR WARS STORY) opens December 16th 2016.
