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The first 'Star Wars' spinoff was inspired by one line from the original movie

The perfect movie pitch can be done in one sentence. 

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Lucasfilm chief creative officer John Knoll pitched a new "Star Wars" movie to the company's current president Kathleen Kennedy in 2012, according to a lengthy "Star Wars" feature in Wired out Tuesday.

"I just have this very simple idea,” said Knoll, "about the rebel spies in the opening crawl of A New Hope who steal the plans for the Death Star."

The idea came straight from a line in the opening crawl of 1977's "Star Wars."

death star plans
Lucasfilm

It reads: "During the battle, rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR."

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Kennedy loved it.

However, the idea didn't become the basis for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," out this December. Nope. It's the foundation for 2016's first standalone spinoff movie, "Rogue One."

The anthology movie, as Disney prefers it to be called, will take place between "Star Wars: Episode III" and "Episode IV" as a group of resistance fighters work together to, yeah, steal the plans to the Death Star. 

Much of the cast was announced back in August at Disney's fan convention D23. The film will star Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, and Mads Mikkelsen.

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Rogue One Cast
Disney

"Rogue One" will be in theaters December 16, 2016.

You can read the full feature at Wired here. Here's the cover art, which shows off the Millennium Falcon going head to head with some TIE fighters on Jakku.

wired december cover
ILM/Wired
Star Wars
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