‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Tightens Its Grip And New Details Slip Through Its Fingers
There will come a day whenStar Warsfans are totally sick of hearing details concerningRogue One: A Star Wars Story. On that day, fans will close their eyes and plug their ears to avoid that 27th TV spot. They will block certain keywords on social media to avoid egregious spoilers. They will break out the same moves they developed during the final weeks leading up to the release ofStar Wars: The Force Awakensto dodge the marketing that threatens to leave them jaded and frustrated before the movie even hits theaters.
But today is not that day. Today is a day of crawling under the rumor mill with a trowel and scraping anything and everything that we can. Today is a day of sorting through tiny rumors and the most minor of possible spoilers to learn anything aboutGareth Edwards' new movie, which will be the first in a few series ofStar Warsspin-offs that will co-exist alongside the main episodes. So let’s hit the jump and dive into the scantRogue Onedetails that are hovering around today.
In a recent poll, Fandango users (possibly still high from inhalingThe Force Awakensthree or more times in a week)votedRogue Onetheir most antiquated movie of 2016, beating out fellow heavy-hitters likeFinding DoryandBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That’s not bad for a movie that hasn’t released a single trailer and has only given us one cast picture to abuse as a header image from the past few months.
Here’s what we know for sure aboutRogue One:Felicity Jonesstars as Rebel Alliance soldier who, along with a team of various other rebels, embarks on a suicide mission to steal the plans to the first Death Star from the Empire (which will, you know, kick off everything we see in the original trilogy). Edwards, ofMonstersandGodzillafame, is directing from a screenplay byGary Whitta,Chris Weitz,and possiblyChristopher McQuarrie. The supporting cast is a who’s who of talented folks, includingBen Mendelsohn,Mads Mikkelsen,Donnie Yen,Diego Luna,Alan Tudyk,Forest Whitaker, andRiz Ahmed.
Anything beyond that is speculation and rumor, so let’s treat everything as rumor until we see something official. We’re all just here to have fun, right?
So let’s start with the biggest piece of tiny news. The frequently reliableMaking Star Warsclaims to have uncovered the name of Felicity Jones' character inRogue One. And it is… cue a drumroll, please…Lyra Erso. Here’s how they reached that conclusion: stuntwoman Gabriele Fritz is listed on various casting sites as being the double for “Lyra Erso” on various casting sites. Since Fritz has the right look and build to double for Jones, it is entirely likely that this is her character’s name. Then again, it’s entirely likely that she’s doubling for another actress altogether. And then it’s also entirely likely that Lyra Erso is a codename, invented to put hungry fans on the wrong track.
Still, I can’t help but hope this name is real for one reason and one reason only: it is an entirely new surname, which means we’re getting a brand new heroine without a familial tie to the Skywalker or Solo clans. TheStar Warsuniverse is big enough to encompass countless protagonists from infinite backgrounds. Let those families dominate the main episodes and let some new blood spearhead the spin-offs.
So let’s go ahead and toss Lyra Erso on the list of unconfirmed names alongsideAhmed’s Bodhi RookandMikkelsen’s Galen. We should start hearing official confirmation on these identities soon enough.
In slightly more obscure news,Star Wars Underworldis reporting that a few minor actors have started listing their roles on various casting sites. It seems thatBern Collacois playing a stormtrooper,Angus Cookis some kind of mechanic mechanic, andNabilah Karimis a samurai. That last one is especially interesting. George Lucas wore his affinity for the films of Akira Kurosawa on his sleeve when he developed and shot the originalStar Wars. Could Edwards be taking things to the next level? What, exactly, is theStar Warsequivalent of a samurai and what makes them different from a Jedi knight?
One actor whose character in the film remains a gigantic question mark is Ben Mendelsohn. Despite early rumors that he would be playing the main villain of the film, Mendelsohn has proven himself quite wily in the press, dodging questions with an agility that would make J.J. Abrams proud. Speaking withDeadline, he answered all of the usual questions about whatStar Warsmeans to him before getting grilled about what to expect fromRogue One:
I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for anyone on those levels. That’s always the same, whether it be Bloodline or Star Wars or Neighbors, for that matter, which is an Australian soap. I wouldn’t tell. But you’re able to expect something pretty special, I’d like to think. I was in the audience for number seven and it was delightful. It exceeded my wildest hopes and dreams for what it might be. It’s a beautiful film. So we’ve got something to reach for and that’s a good thing.
That is one helluva deflection, Mr. Mendelsohn. Lucasfilm has taught you well.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyhas finished filming and will be released onDecember 16, 2016. Start placing your bets on when that first trailer will show up.
