New ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Trailer Debuts On Television: What Does It Reveal?
A new Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer hit the television today, November 6, 2016. The 30-second spot, titled, “Together,” features a classic voice over by Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones.
“The Empire is building a terrible weapon. I need your help. We can stop them. This is your chance to make a real difference. We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope! Are you with me?”
We then hear Diego Luna’s character Cassian Andor say, “All the way.”
The clip opens with the familiar Death Star targeting screen before turning to a flash of Orson Krennic, the Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Empire. Flash to the exterior of the Death Star and a trio of patrolling TIE fighters to finish showing what the Rebellion is facing. Five quick cuts show the Rebel side of this movie. Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, the reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2SO, Baze Malbus, and Chirrut Imwe are given brief shots before the Lucasfilms splash.
It is then revealed who Jyn is talking to when she says that they can make a difference: Saw Gerrera, a name and character familiar to Star Wars fans. For those of you who don’t know who Saw is, he is a freedom fighter who first appeared in The Clone Wars, an animated series that ran on Cartoon Network from October 3, 2008, to March 7, 2014.
He fought alongside Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) and Anakin’s apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, on the planet Onderon. He also had a sister, Steela Gerrera, who was also shown in the three episode story arc, but she was killed in the fight for freedom. Saw blamed himself for her death, leading to him continuing as a freedom fighter, first against the Confederacy of Independent Systems and then against the Empire.
The trailer shows the now familiar scene of the fight on the tropical planet of Scarif, where the Death Star has been in construction. Baze fires his shoulder mounted missile at an Imperial Walker variant. We know this is an All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport (AT-ACT) thanks to a leaked preview of the now-cancelled book, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: The Official Visual Story Guide. This variant is larger than the walkers seen in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. These walkers have a dedicated cargo bay to carry large amounts of material or munitions.
The 30-second trailer ends with Jyn telling the distraught rebels that they should have hope. After all, rebellions are built on hope. Likely this takes place after they find out that the Death Star is on Scarif, a heavily defended world under complete Imperial control. With all of that firepower at the Imperial’s disposal, it’s no wonder that the rebels are feeling a little distraught.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has been promised to end just minutes before the beginning of Star Wars IV: A New Hope begins. After all, we know that A New Hope opens with Princess Leia aboard the Tantive IV running from an Imperial Star Destroyer after having received a transmission containing the plans to the Death Star. That doesn’t bode well for a happy ending for Jyn and company, that they sent a transmission instead of a direct handoff.
Accompanying the trailer release was this tweet from Star Wars UK, featuring new art that shows the rebels and stormtroopers on Scarif.
Rebels and stormtroopers clash in this new art for #RogueOne. Coming December 15 pic.twitter.com/UPpvZA4LlT
— Star Wars UK (@StarWarsUK) November 6, 2016
The two banners, pictured below are simply amazing.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens in the US on December 16, 2016, with staggered release dates worldwide.
[Feature Image by Lucasfilms]
