They’re shaping up to be the core trio of Gareth Edwards’ Anthology flick and sure enough, Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) take center stage in the latest image to arrive from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Hailing from Empire – no, not that one – the still arrives on the heels of the outlet’s recent cover reveals, one of which rallies the Rebels while the other, headlined by Ben Mendelsohn’s glowering Director Orson Krennic, coaxes readers to the dark side of the Force. The third, subscribers-only cover is set to be unveiled today, August 22.
In chronicling the Rebels’ daring mission to pluck blueprints for the in-development Death Star, Edwards and Co. are aiming to distinguish Rogue One from the Star Wars films that have come before – The Force Awakens included. That’s something that Jones refers to while chatting with Empire, stating that “it’s very much a boots-on-the-ground perspective of the Star Wars universe. The idea is that it feels as though you’re actually there. You’re in amongst it.”
It’s certainly an approach that comes across in those trailers, showcasing scores of Rebels fighters storming the beaches of Scarif – a planet mined by the Galactic Empire to construct its fleet of Star Destroyers and the Death Star itself. “It is mucky, it is grimy, you’re in the trenches,” adds Riz Ahmed. “To bring that kind of vérité feel to this world, that kind of documentary realism, is really exciting.”
Also starring Jiang Wen, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whittaker, James Earl Jones and Genevieve O’Reilly as a young Mon Mothma, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will hit the warp drive all the way into theaters on December 16.