It was a rather remarkable summer for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” The seemingly impossible-to-do-wrong Lucasfilm had to navigate a full blown crisis when word emerged that extensive reshoots were scheduled for the franchise’s first spinoff, with Tony Gilroy and Simon Crane brought in to help with shooting. But looking to counter the bad press, Disney hurriedly offered their own viewpoint by giving select press access to the shoot, who determined everything was totally fine and that the internet was overreacting to suggestions that studio suits were nervous about Gareth Edwards‘ gritty “war movie.” And that was followed by an admittedly impressive presentation at Star Wars Celebration Europe. But no matter what, this trailer still has a lot riding on it.
READ MORE: ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Adds Another Cameo
As you know, the film will tell the pre-“Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” story of the group of renegades that steal the plans for the Death Star. There will be some cameos of classic characters — and if you don’t know them yet, I won’t spoil it here — but the focus will largely be on the impressive ensemble which includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, and Forest Whitaker. Here’s the official synopsis:
From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opens on December 16th. Check out the new trailer and let us know if you think ‘Rogue One’ softened since the fantastic first trailer.
That cheerful smile at the end…feels…reshot
So was Mads’ part reduced to a cameo?