We are just a few short weeks away till December 16th and the premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
For all the Star Wars fans I’ve been able to speak to about this film, they are all excited for it. For those that aren’t the die-hard fans, those that don’t understand “Who Shot First?” I’m going to fill you in a bit about this film and how it fits into the entire Star Wars Universe.
When George Lucas made the first film, known as Episode IV “A New Hope”, he created the film never knowing if he would be able to do any others. It was a good story that had a beginning and end and could stand alone. Because of the amazing success, he then was able to do Episode V “The Empire Strikes Back” and Episode VI “Return of the Jedi”. Over time it became well known that there was much more to the story we never got to see. Eventually Episodes I, II and III were done. Were they as good as the originals? Not even close, but at least they added to the Star Wars story. We also know there was more after Return of the Jedi and last year we finally had Episode VII “The Force Awakens.” So you may be thinking, is Rogue One Episode VIII? The answer is simply no and actually took place many many years before Return of the Jedi.
Rogue One if you had to give it a number in the series, I would say it’s Episode III.90. The film takes place between Episodes III “Revenge of the Sith” and Episode IV “A New Hope”, but closer to the beginning of Episode IV. Actually, I’ve read that Rogue One will end 10 minutes before the first scene we see at the start of Episode IV.
If you recall, in the beginning of “A New Hope” in 1977, we see the Tantive IV speeding across the sky and being followed by a much larger ship, an Imperial Star Destroyer named Devastator. Princess Leia was on the Tantive IV with the stolen Death Star plans and she is on her way to find Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. Darth Vader is chasing her in the Devastator, as he wants the plans back and will stop at nothing to get them. Did you ever wonder who stole those plans? How did they get them? Well that is the story told in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
In the film, we will find out who built the Death Star and who that person was. We will also follow the creation of the team of Rebels that will steal the plans from the Empire, so that they can find a way to destroy the Death Star. Many fans I have spoken to are pretty excited to see Darth Vader once again on the big screen in a new film. I’m hoping that it pieces together some of the time-line between the end of “Revenge of the Sith” and the events of Rogue One. We know that at the end of “Revenge of the Sith,” Darth Vader had just put on his familiar black armor so he could survive but what did he do? Did he continue to hunt down and destroy the Jedi or did he have troopers go out and find them? Did he learn more about the Dark Side of the Force? Did he wonder what happened to his wife and children?In the trailers, we have seen another Imperial officer leading the bad guys, that is Orson Krennic and he is the Director of the Advanced Weapons Research division of the Imperial Military.
I will be interested to see if General Moff Tarkin or The Emperor are in the film. We know Vader doesn’t die in this film and I’m assuming somewhere we will see R2-D2 as the plans are stored in him at some point. I know Jimmy Smits is listed on IMDB as Bail Organa, which is the role he played in Revenge of the Sith. For those who don’t know him, Bail Organa is Princess Leia’s adoptive father. He was not part of the royal bloodline of Alderaan so he is not the King, but his wife is the Queen. We know that Alderaan is blown up as the first test of the Death Star’s power in Episode IV, but should see him in Rogue One. We also see Mon Monthma in the trailer, we first saw her in Return of the Jedi and later in Revenge of the Sith, so we know she survives Rogue One. If you don’t know who she is, she was a Politician that was against the Empire and their ruling of the Galaxy. In “Return of the Jedi”, she seems to be the woman in charge of what the Rebellion is doing to destroy the Empire.
The last thing that I have been thinking of, all these characters we are introduced to in Rogue One, they have no place in the Episodes that follow. Were they all killed by the Empire? Were they all sent into hiding by the Rebellion? I will be curious to see what comes of them.
Whatever happens in Rogue One, I’m very excited for the film. I know this film will have the “older feel” as it plays so close to the events of Episode IV. I also am very curious to see how everything came to be since Episode III ended. They have stated the stand alone films would not impact the main Episodes, but rather explain characters and how things occurred to support the storylines.
As co-owner and co-creator of The Main Street Mouse.Working in a technical support position for 18 years, it was time for a change.As the Webmaster and Project Planner, I spend most of my time researching everything from the latest Disney News, technology advances and of course keeping up on all the Marvel news that comes out.I never considered myself a writer but I’ve come to like blogging and sharing news with all.I feel blessed everyday that I get to spend my days working with my best friend and love of my life while we continue to grow and expand what started as a hobby all those years ago.
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