D23 2015: Your First Look at ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’
D23 has become a necessary weekend con to pay attention to. We’ve heard about the clip of Captain America: Civil War that we’ll try to get to you guys, somehow, as fast as we can, but what we have now is just as awesome: The first look at the cast of Rogue One! And yes, Donnie Yen has joined a galaxy far, far away.
Man, is it gritty! We’ve all wanted a darker Star Wars, this is literally dark. There’s hardly any blues or yellows!
Oh man, Donnie Yen. I actually had confirmation several weeks ago that he would be in Star Wars, but I had to sit on it for various reasons. It really sucked I couldn’t tell you guys sooner, but you would have found out yourselves if you knew where to look. It wasn’t exactly a heavily-guarded secret.
Besides Donnie Yen The Living God, Rogue One has got a hell of a cast. From left to right in the above photot: Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Jiang Wen, Donnie Yen. Not pictured but will be in the film are Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk (yes, THAT Alan Tudyk!), Forest Whitaker (yes, THAT Forest Whitaker!), and Mads Mikkelsen (yes, THAT Mads Mikkelsen — Jesus Rogue One isn’t messing around).
Has the title changed? I was under the impression and had long written it and seen it written as Star Wars: Rogue One, but it seems the title is officially Rogue One with A Star Wars Story as a tagline. I’m also seeing Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One in certain places. Minor details, all that matters is that you know Rogue One and that this is goddamn Star Wars so anything works.
Rogue One is a prequel-ish of sorts, taking place before A New Hope. Directed by Gareth Edwards of 2014’s Godzilla, the movie “will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar” says Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy in the press release.
From StarWars.com:
“It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essentialStar Wars feel that fans have come to know. Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for ‘Rogue One.’”
I can’t fanboy enough over Donnie Yen in Star Wars. Felicity Jones and Alan Tudyk are just the cherries on top. Excuse me, I have some Ip Man to watch on loop between now and December 16, 2016. I might even skip The Force Awakens! (Haha, no.)
