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Saturday, April 9, 2016

Force in Focus: Rogue One Teaser


The marketing for Rogue One, the next Star Wars film due to be released this December, has been oddly quiet (particularly for a franchise known for being less-than-quiet on the marketing front), with most of the Star Wars-related press focused (understandably) on the aftermath of The Force Awakens and then its Blu-ray release. Scuttlebutt has been that the first Rogue One trailer would be released with Captain America: Civil War in May, and while that still may be the case, this week saw the release of a quick teaser - timed, not coincidentally, I'm sure, with the Force Awakens blu-ray release (corporate synergy at work!).

It's brief, but there's nevertheless a bunch of cool, fun, and jaw-dropping stuff packed in there.

"This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel."


Boom. One line of dialogue that speaks volumes about a character.

Mon Mothma


While Mon Mothma isn't an Expanded Universe character, first appearing in Return of the Jedi, she feels like one. Since her screen time is so limited, much of what we know about the character comes from the Expanded Universe. As a result, seeing that she has a role in this movie (seeing her on the Rebel base on Yavin Four, no less!) feels like seeing an old EU character get immediate canonization (even better - she's being played by the same actress who played her in Revenge of the Sith, all too briefly, over ten years ago).

White Uniform


A white Imperial uniform can designate one of two things: in the old EU, it meant either Grand Admiral, or Imperial Security Bureau (basically, the Imperial secret police). The ISB remains canon (thanks to Clone Wars and Rebels), but there's a chance this could be a heretofore-unseen Grand Admiral. Either way, it's pretty cool to see a high-ranking Imperial in white.

Guarded Column


A brief shot shows a hooded figure approaching a column guarded by two of the Emperor's red-robed guards. There's been rumors of Darth Vader making an appearance in this movie, but that's probably not him kneeling down (he doesn't usually wear a hood). Nevertheless, the presence of the Imperial Guard suggest some kind of Imperial involvement in the movie on the highest levels.

Familiar Sights


Those doofy Rebel soldier helmets (that previously only appeared at the very beginning of A New Hope). The Rebel base on Yavin Four. The Death Star, with a ton of Star Destroyers providing scale! Stormtroopers, old school, Stormtroopers. along with one of those transport/landspeeder things that have popped up in Rebels. AT-ATs! If you thought The Force Awakens was steeped in nostalgia for the Original Trilogy, this takes that and multiplies it by about a hundred.

4 comments:

  1. I wasn't sure what to think about this movie since I knew so little about it, but this trailer has me sold already. The recreation of the Yavin war room is fantastic, and it looks even more old-school than did THE FORCE AWAKENS.

    I had wondered if that was the same actress who portrayed Mon Mothma in Episode III! Glad to see her getting a bit more to do in the part. With regards to the royal guards in the trailer, dare I cross my fingers and hope, oh-so-fervently, for a scene-chewing appearance by Ian McDiarmid??? Or would that be too hard for them to keep under wraps?

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    1. I know there's been talk of Vader showing up in some capacity, so an Emperor appearance couldn't be too out of the question. Though like you, I doubt such a thing could be kept under wraps (or that LucasFilm would WANT to keep it under wraps, because, let's be honest, everything we know we know because they want us to).

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  2. Oh, I could only dream of a cameo by Ian McDiarmid in one last go! Some old school ee-vil plotting (and cackling) would be awesome. I'm actually more excited by Rogue One than the new trilogy, TBH.

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  3. I got a kick out of seeing the AT-ATs too. Also the fact that it looked like film and possessed the original trilogy’s whole grimy, sweat-and-tears aesthetic.

    While I know I’ve seen her elsewhere, I was surprised by how much Felicity Jones as… Jyn Erso, says a quick Rogue One Google, resembles a young Carrie Fisher — which on the one hand is probably less a plot point than the franchise's penchant for young pale brunettes but on the other hand, well, Padme was Leia's mother and the jury's still out on Rey as Leia's daughter or niece or what, so maybe there is a connection; heck, maybe she’s Rey's mother, which'd be a neat development.

    After I wrote the above on Facebook the day of the teaser release, I read serious conjecture along those lines. Then came J.J. Abrams’ statement this past week that Rey’s parents aren’t in Episode VII, which lends credence to Erso being Rey’s mother if we assume that Rey’s parents have been or will be introduced as characters in their own right. Then of course Abrams said that he misspoke and meant only that Rey doesn’t know or learn of her parentage in Episode VII, which could be truth but could likewise be him engaging in damage control through my least favorite J.J. Abrams habit, namely, outright lying to protect a secret in a way that only pisses folks off after the truth is revealed.

    For my part I think introducing Rey’s mother in Rogue One is a brilliant idea.

    Lastly, I hope there isn't much of that godawful autotuned Wookie yelp in the score to the actual movie and that someone changes the doofy "A Star Wars Story” rubric back to the way better "Star Wars Anthology".

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