INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Tickets Go On Sale Monday

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 03:28 PST, Nov 27, 2016

Tickets for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be made available to the public on Monday, Lucasfilm recently announced, giving fans their first tangible experience with the highly anticipated film, the first spin-off of Sci-Fi’s most iconic saga.

The announcement was made on Thanksgiving night, Entertainment Weekly notes, answering the anxieties of fans who watched advance tickets for the newest Star Wars film go on sale this past Monday in the U.K. The ticket sale will begin at midnight Eastern time for most retailers, though Lucasfilm noted that the timing ultimately remains at the discretion of each individual outlet.

Lucasfilm and its parent company, Disney, have notably held back on sales for Rogue One, making advance tickets available only a few weeks ahead of the film’s release. Last year, when The Force Awakens brought Star Wars back to screens after a decade-long hiatus, advance tickets went on sale in mid-October ahead of a similar debut date. One of the most eagerly anticipated films in history, The Force Awakens sold over $100 million before its first frame ever hit a screen.

Due to the difference in strategy on Lucasfilm’s part, it will be all but impossible for fans to compare the advance ticket numbers for The Force Awakens and Rogue One. Industry sources in Hollywood expect the first Star Wars spin-off to generate roughly $130 million during its opening weekend, however, notably short of The Force Awakens‘ $248 million debut. That film went on to earn $2.06 billion globally, cementing the Star Wars saga for another generation, as Variety notes.

Comparing the two films, both financially and aesthetically, seems to be folly on the surface. Rogue One is far from a traditional Star Wars film, and reports suggest that it won’t even feature the iconic opening crawl which has defined the previous seven films in the franchise. The Force Awakens also brought a host of iconic characters back to the screen, while introducing a new generation of heroes and villains to fans. Though Rogue One takes place just before the events of A New Hope, the only confirmed classic character to appear in the film is Darth Vader, and the scope of his role has yet to be detailed, as the Inquisitr has previously noted.

Instead of Vader, the nascent rebels of Rogue One will face off against Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic, a man obsessed with completing the construction of the Death Star. Rogue One tells the story of the Rebel team, led by Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso, who are responsible for stealing the Death Star plans, allowing the alliance to mount their ultimately successful attack on the Empire’s first grand battle station. Jones is joined by a host of new characters, including Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, Firefly veteran Alan Tudyk as his reprogrammed security droid K-2SO, and Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen as Baze Malbus and Chirrut Imwe.

Forest Whitaker appears in Rogue One as well, portraying Saw Gerrera, a character that originated in the animated series Clone Wars. Whitaker has the distinction of playing the first role in the 40-year-history of Star Wars that came to the franchise from an animated series, before being brought to life on the screen.

However its story unfolds, Rogue One will break new ground in the Star Wars franchise. Detailing the struggles and triumphs of the Empire’s citizens and the Rebel Alliance instead of the Jedi and the Skywalker clan, the film will reveal another side to the saga, heretofore unseen by fans.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens on December 16, lifting the curtain on a new generation for the iconic film series.

[Featured Image by Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios]

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