‘Rogue One’ Trailer: 5 Things We Saw In Brand New (And Still Unreleased) Star Wars Celebration Footage
This year’s Star Wars Celebration capped off its first day in London with a jam-packed “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” panel that featured stars like Felicity Jones, Diego Luna and Riz Ahmed taking the stage to chat alongside director Gareth Edwards and Lucasfilm head honcho Kathleen Kennedy. The event was easily the most aniticpated event of the day, if not the entire convention, and one that was made available to the masses via live stream.
But there was one thing that not everyone could see, a brand new “Rogue One” trailer that was only shown to the London audience in attendance at the event. And while that trailer won’t be released online for a currently undetermined amount of time (Kennedy took great pleasure in introducing it to the audience, all while begging that no one record it), IndieWire was live on site and caught the entire thing in person.
So what can fans of the first “Star Wars Story” expect to see when the trailer is released to the masses? Turns out, quite a bit. Here’s what you can look forward to.
1. A Glimpse Of Young Jyn Erso
During the panel, it was made clear that Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso will differ from other “Star Wars” heroes in a number of ways, most importantly when it comes to her background. Jones and company promised that we’ll have a complete sense of who Jyn is and where she’s from early on, and that speaks to one of the first shots in the new trailer, which features what looks like a kid Jyn running across a vast desert. Looks like our Jyn has always been quite the fighter.
2. Very Dire Circumstances
The trailer opens with a voiceover from Jones as Jyn, who warns us, “There isn’t much time, every day we grow weaker, but they grow stronger. This is our chance to make a real difference.” It’s clear that things are very dire indeed for our would-be heroes (and, quite possibly, plenty of other people, especially the residents of the planet Jedha, an occupied territory that will feature prominently in the film) and that the action that plays out in “Rogue One” will hinge on a smaller, weaker faction finally rising up.
3. Jyn The Leader
Jyn’s speech also functions as something of a battle cry, and the trailer spends significant time setting Jones’ character up as the obvious hero of the story and the leader of the rogue band of misfits who come together to steal the Death Star plans. While Jones’ place as the main character has never been in question, this new trailer offers up our first look at Jyn’s leadership skills and makes it plain that she’s the one in charge of both massive action and her relatively small group of allies. For fans looking for another strong female character to join the ranks of Leia and Rey, Jyn is already being set up as the next best thing.
4. Brand New Battles
The panel also played home to a new sizzle reel that featured a fresh look at previously unreleased action sequences, many of which also popped up in the unreleased trailer. “Rogue One” has often been classified as a war movie, and the look and feel of this new trailer leans heavily on that concept.
READ MORE: ‘Star Wars’ Celebration 2016 Live Stream: Watch The ‘Rogue One’ Cast Live From London
5. An Appearance From Darth Vader
The new trailer doesn’t quite feature the franchise’s ultimate villain in the flesh, but he does make an appearance through his famed breathing, which plays over the final scenes of the trailer and its logo, and by way of a chilling silhouette that serves as the trailer’s final shot. Vader’s back! (Or, well, technically just fitting into a preexisting timeline in which he was already very much alive, but you get it.)
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” will open on December 14.
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