1) No Skywalker’s Allowed
Admittedly, this is a slightly inaccurate title, because Darth Vader is rumored to make an appearance in Rogue One. But as the first movie not prominently featuring a member of Star Wars’ preeminent family, the first Anthology outing diverges sharply from the established films.
This lack of Skywalker – what Edwards calls a “no Jedi” film – unbinds his storytelling hands. He and his screenwriters won’t have to worry about injecting mysticism into the proceedings, just getting the spirit of the rebellion right. His Force-light film also means, at least at this point, no Deus Ex Machina. As Edwards told fans at last year’s Star Wars Celebration, “[Rogue One is] about the fact that God’s not coming to save us, and we’re on our own.” All bets are off.
However, without the constraints of the Force-hero archetype, other directors tackling Anthology films are free to explore those smaller yet infinitely fascinating cogs within the Star Wars universe – the very things which attracted fans to the franchise in the first place.
Sure, the world may not ready for a Gonk droid movie, but we wouldn’t mind if it showed up as scenery in a Rogue Squadron one-off. And the mere possibility of a certain green-armored bounty hunter standalone is enough to give a legions of fanatics wet dreams.
After Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, all of this is possible and the franchise can now truly become the cinematic universe it already is in our minds.