What the new Rogue One trailer tells us

Who’s ready for more Star Wars?

The recently-released teaser trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has got our little geeky heads in a whirl again, as we were introduced to the new characters, as well as some familiar ones amidst a blur of action, kung fu and blaster fire.

But what does the trailer tell us about the movie, which is set for release in December and directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla)? Well, here are six things we managed to glean from it:

1) It is set before Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

Don’t bother looking for new characters like Finn, Rey and BB-8 in this film. It is set before A New Hope, and tells the story of how the Rebels got their hands on the plans for the Death Star. You know, the one that Luke blew up in A New Hope. There’s even a scene of the Death Star being constructed in the trailer.

2) Felicity Jones plays a rebellious Rebel

“This is a Rebellion, isn’t it? I rebel.”

So, speculation that Jones could be playing Sabine from the Star Wars Rebels animated series seems to have been way off the mark. Her name is Jyn Erso, and she is apparently a particularly rebellious character, a criminal with a list of misdemeanours that include “forgery of Imperial documents, possession of stolen property, aggravated assault, and resisting arrest”. She’s also a pretty good fighter, as seen in one brief scene where she takes down a group of Stormtroopers.

I wouldnt want to meet these Shadowtrooper guys in a dark alley.

3) No Bothans were killed in this heist

At least none that we know of yet. The famous “Many Bothans died to bring us this information” line uttered by Mon Mothma in Return Of The Jedi was referring to the Death Star II. Then again, with Alan Tudyk playing a still-unknown CGI character, there IS a distant possibility he might be a Bothan who dies to bring the Rebels the information.

4) Donnie Yen is not a Jedi

Director Edwards has reportedly said that there will be little to no Jedi presence in Rogue One. That didn’t stop fans from hoping that Donnie Yen’s character would turn out to be a Jedi though.

Stop me if youve heard this one: A blind Yen walks into a group of Stormtroopers…

The trailer has a brief scene of Yen’s blind character walking through a group of Stormtroopers and then beating up one of them with his walking stick in true Ip Man style. We still think the stick looks suspiciously short to be a mere stick though, and we’re still crossing our fingers that it could actually be a lightsaber in disguise.

Speaking of Asian actors, Jiang Wen also makes an appearance in the teaser, dreadlocks and all, in a scene that follows a voiceover by Forest Whitaker. Anyone having flashbacks of Battlefield Earth yet?

5) Some familiar faces will return

Senator Mon Mothma (played by Genevieve O’Reilly, who played the same character in Revenge Of The Sith, but ended up getting cut from the final film) is quite prominent in the trailer. Ben Mendelsohn’s character is also shown, clad in an imposing white uniform, complete with long flowing cape. We still don’t know for sure, but he could be playing Grand Moff Tarkin, the commander of the Death Star in A New Hope, or at least a character with the same rank.

Though there was nothing in the trailer to confirm this, there is also a chance that Boba Fett might show up in Rogue One, as a recent LEGO toy presentation let slip a few hints of the bounty hunter’s presence.

Somehow, this scene reminds us of the mumakil scene from Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, but with more lasers.

6) This is where it’s AT-AT

Last seen in Return Of the Jedi, but most prominently used in the Battle Of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, the imposing AT-AT (All Terrain Armoured Transport) makes a comeback in Rogue One. One of the best scenes in the trailer has the heroes running TOWARDS a group of them while dodging a rain of laser fire. We can’t wait to see that sequence.

Oh, and those black Stormtroopers could also be Shadowtroopers! Now that’s something an Expanded Universe (RIP) fan can get behind!