The cavalry is here. Continuing to peel back the layers on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Entertainment Weekly has today premiered another batch of images from the upcoming spinoff, this time featuring Stormtroopers and Deathtroopers laying siege to a tropical isle.
As EW points out, this planet appears to exist under the shadow of the Death Star itself, effectively teeing up a decisive battle on its picturesque shoreline. For all of the fantasy and sci-fi elements coursing through the veins of Rogue One, these shots bear a striking similarity to the Pacific Theater of WWII.
Touching base on that very aesthetic, director Gareth Edwards told EW that:
“There’s this sort of South Pacific, tropical paradise planet that subconsciously leads into some of the imagery associated with World War II. We went to lots of different places around the world, and one of them was the Maldives. When you’re shooting Stormtroopers in paradise, you have the best job in the world, you know? You can’t really deny it at that point.”
Taking point as the movie’s lead is Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, an outcast that has clashed with both the Empire and Rebel Alliance in her journey throughout the stars. Same goes for Jyn’s wayward father, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), who acts as a brilliant scientist deemed instrumental to both sides of the Force.
Among Edwards’ ragtag crew are Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), Rebel fighter Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), Alan Tudyk’s droid K-2SO – billed as “the antithesis of C-3PO” – and the villainous Imperial leader Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). Rogue One also stars Donnie Yen, Diego Luna, and Forest Whitaker as Rebel extremist, Saw Gerrera. And yes, Darth Vader and subsequently James Earl Jones are a lock – just don’t expect them to feature too heavily in the story.
Look for Gareth Edwards’ long-awaited spinoff to take flight when Rogue One: A Star Wars Story shoots for theaters on December 16.
