t2 counts down to Rogue One: A Star Wars story with this ready reckoner
THE BACKSTORY
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the first in a new series of Star Wars standalone films (the Star Wars Anthology Series) set in the universe fans know and love, but featuring new characters and storylines.
When Lucasfilm president and Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy first sat down with George Lucas as he outlined his plans to continue with the Star Wars saga and to make Episodes VII, VIII and IX, he revealed another ambition. “George decided he was going to make more saga films, but he said he felt there was also an opportunity to tell more stories inside the universe,” explains Kennedy, “and to make films not related to the Luke Skywalker story.”
And so was born the idea of creating films that would complement the new saga films, but also allow Kennedy and the Lucasfilm team to explore the universe and experiment with different styles and different ways of telling stories.
THE STORY
Rogue One tells the story of a group of unlikely heroes, who in a time of conflict band together on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
It takes place in the time between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope (the first released film in the series) where we see the plans in Princess Leia’s possession.
THE DIRECTOR’S VISION
Before director Gareth Edwards could focus on the important job of casting, he had to take a step back and think how he could give the film its own identity within the Star Wars universe and make it his own.
To do this, Edwards felt he had to take all that he knew about the films and take each element to its breaking point and find out what ultimately makes a Star Wars film feel exactly that. But equally, how he could make it fresh and exciting.
Edwards also wanted to make his film feel more grounded in reality and to give Rogue One a sense of gritty realism very reminiscent of his style of filming in Monsters. “What I wanted to do was to make Rogue One more natural, more realistic and a little more organic; to make it feel like a real world. This is a time with no Jedi, no god to come and help the people who are under this massive threat,” explains the director.
JYN ERSO (FELICITY JONES)
FJ plays the protagonist Jyn Erso, an impetuous, defiant young woman with a chequered past, who lends her skills to the Rebel Alliance for the desperate mission of stealing the plans for the Death Star.
“I wanted Jyn to be as human as possible. She’s strong when she needs to be, she’s incredibly determined and she has to be tough when she doesn’t feel it. But at the same time there is enormous vulnerability,” Jones says about Jyn.
CAPTAIN CASSIAN ANDOR (DIEGO LUNA)
A respected Alliance Intelligence officer with field combat experience, Cassian Andor commands the loyalty of his Rebel troops because of his ability to keep a cool head under fire.
Describing his experience on Rogue One, Luna says, “The film has many layers. There are moments that are deep and dramatic and deserve a lot of attention and rigour as actors. Then there are scenes that are just fun and it’s like choreography. You’re enjoying and having fun with the beat.”
SAW GERRERA (FOREST WHITAKER)
Originally introduced in the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Saw Gerrera is a veteran of the Clone Wars and the leader of a band of Rebel extremists. Saw, who lives on Jedha, a desert moon, is the brain behind the insurgency against Imperial forces. He is very gruff but charismatic. “Saw is very clear about what he believes,” says Whitaker. “He’s willing to do things he thinks are necessary to save the people.”
BODHI ROOK (RIZ AHMED)
Bodhi Rook is a former Imperial pilot who has great piloting and technical skills, but is not really a soldier. Riz Ahmed says of his character: “Gareth described Bodhi as a guy in a war movie who isn’t supposed to be there. Everyone on the team is a soldier or warrior in some way and there’s this guy who is there by accident but realises he has to step up and make himself valuable. He’s an everyman, someone audiences can relate to.”
CHIRRUT IMWE (DONNIE YEN)
Chirrut Îmwe is a blind monk who is very spiritual and a skilled and artful warrior, despite lacking Force abilities. Donnie Yen, who plays Chirrut, is a martial arts expert (think Ip Man) and one of China’s most popular and respected actors.
BAZE MALBUS (JIANG WEN)
The best friend of Chirrut who will follow his closest friend to the ends of the universe. Baze’s Imperial-occupied home world has turned him into a pragmatic soldier who is skilled with the use of his heavy repeater weapon. Of his character, Jiang Wen says, “Ultimately, he’s a good man at heart and very honest and is very loyal to his friend Chirrut. And Chirrut’s friends are his friends.”
K-2SO (ALAN TUDYK)
K-2SO is a reprogrammed Imperial droid, which functioned as a security guard and is now loyal to the Rebel Alliance. Alan Tudyk brings the droid to life via motion capture. The pragmatic droid is effective as an insertion agent with his capacity to blend in perfectly at Imperial installations and outposts.
GALEN ERSO (MADS MIKKELSEN)
Galen Erso, played by Mads Mikkelsen, is Jyn’s father and a brilliant scientist whose skill in energy-focused research makes him instrumental to the creation of the Death Star. On becoming part of the Star Wars family, Mikkelsen says, “It’s a big honour to be part of this legendary film universe. Something very interesting to me about Star Wars is that it’s quite human, even though we have droids and different kinds of creatures that look very different from the human race.”
DIRECTOR ORSON KRENNIC (BEN MENDELSOHN)
Orson Krennic is the director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial military and the villain of Rogue One. A man obsessed with the completion of the Death Star project. He was a friend of Galen and after rescuing the Erso family from Separatists, he uses the debt to make Galen contribute to the project.
DARTH VADER (JAMES EARL JONES)
James Earl Jones is back to voice Darth Vader, one of the most popular villains of all time. He will be in the film sparingly.
MON MOTHMA (GENEVIEVE O’REILLY)
We’ve seen the leader of Galactic Senate’s Loyalist faction in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith opposing Supreme Chancellor Palpatine’s policies. And as the leader of the Rebel Alliance in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Genevieve O’Reilly reprises the role of the founder of the Rebel Alliance in Rogue One.
THE PLACES
JEDHA
Jedha is the birthplace of the Force, a place of pilgrimage for those seeking spiritual guidance. The small desert moon frosted by a permanent winter is home to one of the first civilisations to explore the nature of the Force. Jedha is now Imperial-occupied and witness to an ongoing battle between the Imperial forces and the Rebels.
SCARIF
The beautiful planet with its seas and tropical forests is the main construction facility for the Empire. The planet is protected by impenetrable deflector shields and heavily defended.
DID YOU KNOW?
• To create the look and feel they wanted for Rogue One, director Gareth Edwards and Greig Fraser, the cinematographer, went back to the camera lenses of the 1970s and combined them with modern digital technology.
• To get Jyn Erso’s look, the filmmakers looked at Kurdish female freedom fighters as well as Japanese influences. Jyn’s undershirt was based on a Japanese design.
• In addition to the iconic Stormtroopers, Edwards wanted to give fans something new and intimidating. And so were born the Death Troopers. They are an elite group of fighters costumed in black. The fearsome Death Troopers each stand at well over 6ft tall.
• One set familiar to fans will be the rebel base on Yavin 4 first seen in Star Wars: A New Hope. The team was able to revisit the exact location of the original Yavin 4 set — Cardington Airfield in the UK. The enormous hangars offered the production designers the opportunity to actually build Yavin 4 to scale. The completed set measured approximately 350ft in length and 200ft in width.
• For the inspiration behind the creation of the holy city of Jedha, production designers looked to the ancient city of Jerusalem and the desert fortress of Masada in Israel. Another key influence in the creation of Jedha was Paris during World War II.
