Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

Here's exactly what the new 'Star Wars' movie, 'Rogue One,' will be about

resistance star wars rogue one
Disney/Lucasfilm

"Star Wars" fans across the galaxy are rejoicing after Disney released the first teaser trailer for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."

Advertisement

"Rogue One," for short, is the first "Star Wars" film of its kind, existing as an "anthology" story outside of the established trilogies. Here's a quick rundown of what "Rogue One" is and how it fits into the "Star Wars" universe, both past and present. 

What is this movie about? Is it a prequel?

jyn rogue one
Disney/Lucasfilm

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" takes place before the 1977 original film, "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope." In "A New Hope," Princess Leia hides the plans to destroy the superweapon, the Death Star, inside her droid, R2-D2. "Rogue One" will follow the team of rebel fighters as they attempt to find the plans for the Death Star. Spoiler: We know they eventually end up in Leia's hands, but this is our in-depth look at how it happened. 

Where does it fit into the "Star Wars" trilogies? 

Princess Leia, Star Wars, New Hope
20th Century Fox via YouTube screengrab

Story wise, "Rogue One" connects directly with the original film. You won't need to watch the original film or even the latest movie, "The Force Awakens," in order to follow along with this film.

"Rogue One" is a standalone "anthology" film with a loose connection to the future anthology films. They're all related, but they won't directly connect to each other the way, say, "Star Wars: Episode V" connects to "Episode IV." "Rogue One" may introduce characters we'll see in the other anthology movies, but it's meant to stand on its own two feet.

Advertisement

So what are the anthology films? 

"Rogue One" is the first of three standalone "anthology" films set at different points within the "Star Wars" timeline. A new film will be released every other year, in between films in the new "Star Wars" trilogy.

2015 - "Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens"

2016 - Anthology Movie: "Rogue One"

December 15, 2017 - Episode VIII

Advertisement

May 25, 2018 - Anthology Movie: "Han Solo" film 

2019 - Episode IX

2020 - Anthology Movie: Still Untitled

The Episode VII, VIII, and IX films will all directly relate to each other as a trilogy. However, the anthology movies will all loosely relate to each other, with less overlap. 

Advertisement
jyn rogue one
Disney/Lucasfilm

Who is the woman you see in the trailer? Is she from another movie?

The lead character, played by Felicity Jones, is named Jyn Erso. She's mostly a mystery, but we know that she's an orphan with a wild streak that joins the rebel army and eventually leads the team tasked with stealing the Death Star plans. There's a lot of speculation about how she fits in the overall "Star Wars" universe. Any deeper connection to other characters remains to be seen. 

Is Darth Vader in the movie?  

Darth Vader
Screenshot/Empire Strikes Back

He might be! There's still no official confirmation of who anyone is playing, but fans speculate that Darth Vader will appear in "Rogue One." 

When is it coming out?

"Star Wars: Rogue One" is coming December 16.

Movies Star Wars
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account