‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Stars Drop Spoilers

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is deep in production, but that hasn’t kept the cast and crew from developing an inside look at the making of the film, nor has it prevented stars Felicity Jones and Mads Mikkelsen, among others, from spilling a few details about the upcoming Star Wars film. The latest teaser for Rogue One gives more than mere glimpses of scenes, adding in the thoughts and insights of the crew in rare, behind-the-scenes footage that may be of more value to fans than a full blown trailer.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – Celebration Reel Takes Fans Behind The Cameras

The Star Wars spin-off film takes place just before the events of A New Hope, and as Collider reminds us, the film will tell the story of how the plans for the original Death Star were stolen. This is a vital story arc, because it will ultimately enable a young Luke Skywalker to destroy that first Death Star, but Rogue One is also promising on its own merits. Rogue One will create a history for one of the most epic battles in the war between the rebels and Galactic Empire and some speculate that the new Star Wars story will reveal how this weapon was first conceived.

This behind-the-scenes look into the making of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may be brief, but it’s certain to be just a portion of the special features, when the film is eventually released on DVD and Blu-ray. Even so, the sneak peek gives Star Wars fans some interesting insight into the film, including a comment from one unnamed production team member, who suggests that the original Star Wars films should be respected, but not so much that fresher minds would be afraid to add their own vision to the story.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Insights From The Actors

In collecting various quotes from interviews with Rogue One actors, Newsweek may have hit on one key element that rises above anything else we may learn about the new Star Wars film and that has to do with Jyn Erso’s motivation for joining the rebels. Previously, Star Wars heroes have come to join the rebellion over a feeling of being lost and searching for their roots or lineage, but Felicity Jones, who plays Jyn, says that won’t be the case for her Rogue One character.

“I feel there’s one major difference between Jyn Erso and…Rey and Luke,” says Jones. “She’s not a character who’s asking ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where do I come from?’ We know where she comes from, and that fact is what propels the story, and it’s the beginning of Jyn’s journey to find out what her reason is and her cause.”

While Felicity is open about discussing her Rogue One: A Star Wars Story character, actor Mads Mikkelsen, who plays Galen Erso, is more skittish about discussing the details of his character, which is understandable, considering he may have been chastised for revealing that he would be playing Jyn’s father in Rogue One. Still, it does seem he’s confirming that Galen is the one responsible for creating the Death Star.

“He’s a scientist, and he at one point invented something so beautiful, so fantastic that it might change the universe.”

Ever since the first trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story dropped, fans have been eager to learn what role Forrest Whitaker plays in the film, but the actor recently revealed that he’s reprising a character from the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It will be interesting to see how Whitaker recreates the character of Saw Gerrera in a live action film.

“Saw Gerrera is a rebel fighter. He’s been fighting for years against the Imperial occupation. He’s been controlling a group of rebels that’s been out to the extreme. There’s a series of different rebel groups coming together as an alliance, and all these people are different parts of that.”

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set to hit theaters on December 16.

[Image by Lucasfilm]