‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Teaser Trailer Reaction

Alright, everyone. It’s the harried, overly excited reaction to the new Rogue One teaser you have all been waiting for. Josh put together some quick reactions that have very little to do with anything other than fanboy excitement! Feel free to add your own observations in the comments and get excited for something wholly different coming to a galaxy far, far away!

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1) Gareth Edwards on full display

Think about the quick scene of the ground level shot looking up at AT-ATs. It’s grounded and it’s muddy. Edwards also loves to use dark interiors with light pouring in and obscuring the outside (the opening part with Jones’ character walking through the hangar bay). He almost sees the darkness exposing the light. As if the dark underbelly of this fledgling Rebellion can expose the ruling Empire. And if we get anything as visually appealing in this movie as the Halo Jump scene from Godzilla, fans are going to be in fits of joy.

2) Gonk droids!

Those lumbering, seemingly useless droids are back again after making a short appearance on Jakku in The Force Awakens!

3) Ben Mendelsohn as Tarkin

This may be the best thing ever. Even though they tease Darth Vader (most likely voiced by James Earl Jones) and it is rumored he is in the movie, Tarkin is going to have a monster-like, menacing villain quality to him worthy of a Peter Cushing performance.

4) Purge Troopers

A tie-in to existing new material from the Star Wars: Uprising game, they are the black-clad troopers with the crazy helmets. According to the new canon, these troopers are like the old Dark Troopers from the EU LucasArts video games. They are elite troops that are utilized by Governors and Moffs. Expect these troopers to be taking direct orders from Tarkin.

5) Donnie Yen, you guys.

The one second of him fighting Stormtroopers! Ok, Disney, you have me. I could watch that one second for hours!

6) Alan Tudyk is a CGI Robot???

-There had been unconfirmed rumors of a fully-CGI character in the movie. It looks like it is the IG-88 looking robot you don’t get a full look at in the trailer, but is seen in two different shots with Felicity Jones’ character, Jyn Erso. I suspect Alan Tudyk, voice actor extraordinaire for Disney Animation, is voicing the character.

7) Felicity Jones is Jyn Erso

Oh yeah! Instead of a female Luke, this time, we are getting a female Han. She is an ex-Imperial, has a rap sheet, and gets sent on a mission she seems to have been caught up in. My speculation is she is sprung from an Imperial prison, escapes from said prison, and joins the Rebellion because she has nowhere else to go. Jones is a phenomenal actress whose prowess landed her the gig and won Eddie Redmayne an Oscar he did not deserve (a two-year-old soap box of mine). I’m really excited to see her in tandem with Diego Luna and her interactions with Mon Mothma.

What is interesting is the different take this movie looks to have on the Hero’s journey. Jyn has a troubled background but likewise, has been abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself. She shares a common thread with Luke, Rey, and Ezra from Star Wars Rebels. The only difference is she is an ex-Imperial. Her hero’s journey might be one like that of Finn, but with a criminal background twist more like Han. She has a rebellious streak–“This is a Rebellion, isn’t it? I rebel,”–but can be shaped into something heroic by being given the shot, much like Han.

Also, it has not been well-explored within the canon Star Wars Universe how non-Jedi and defecting Imperials operated within the Rebel Alliance. We have gotten some of that on Star Wars Rebels, but no real movie treatment. Granted, Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter, Tycho Celchu, all the major players that were a part of Rogue Squadron, used to be Imperials, but we don’t know much about how they got to where they were. It looks like from this movie we are getting a treatment of how the Rebels utilized the darker, seedier elements of their rebellion to make a major play against the Empire. So cool!

Lastly, Jyn Erso is already being linked to TFA as Rey’s mother. I find that plausible, but probably not likely. Just because they both have a British accent does not mean they are related. By that measure, Mon Mothma has as much a chance of being Rey’s mother. Also, I cannot find who is playing Mon Mothma. It is not listed anywhere.

8) Rebels Gonna Rebel

Lastly, this is not the squeaky clean rebellion we are used to. It feels like they have embraced the aesthetic of Empire for the Rebellion in this movie, copied the designs of fatigues and military garb from A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, and given it a war movie-like look and feel. It is massively exciting!

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