With just under two weeks to go before the theatrical release of ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, LucasFilm has released a pair of brief clips from the film. With the film marking the first attempt (at the cinema, at least) to expand the live-action ‘Star Wars’ productions beyond the traditional numbered episodes, there is certainly a lot riding on ‘Rogue One’. Fortunately, the footage released so far has been fairly promising, and these new clips only add to that promise.
The first clip, which is included below, focuses on the interplay between the film’s leads. While the clip shows what looks like Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor beginning to establish a degree of trust, though there is still an undeniable tension, one that is only exacerbated by reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO. Voiced by Alan Tudyk, K-2SO has thus far not featured as heavily in the film’s advertising as the cast of human characters.
The second clip is an extension of a scene featured in various trailers and TV spots, in which Jyn delivers an inspirational speech to the assembled Rebels. Beyond the speech itself, the clip is notable both as an example of the film’s remarkable fidelity in recreating the sets, costumes, and other design elements of the original ‘Star Wars’ and for reintroducing the character Bail Organa, played here and in the prequel trilogy by Jimmy Smits. The clip is available here:
Directed by Gareth Edwards, the events of ‘Rogue One’ take place shortly before the original 1977 film, following a group of Rebel spies who find themselves tasked with stealing the plans to the Death Star and delivering them to the Alliance.
‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ will open in theaters on December 16, 2016, almost exactly one year after the release of ‘The Force Awakens’. In addition to Alan Tudyk and Jimmy Smits, the film stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Jiang Wen, and Forest Whitaker.
