9) Diverse Casting
Despite the ridiculous backlash, J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens was unabashedly open-minded about casting actors who accurately represented the unique Star Wars world (and our own), and Rogue One will be no exception to that.
The upcoming standalone features Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso) as the main character, meaning that the franchise now has back to back female-fronted films. Edwards and crew also cast a swath of minority actors in lead and supporting roles, including Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker and Jian Wen.
Not only does the casting trend bode well for Hollywood’s slowly broadening horizons, but it also makes sense for the overall franchise. Before The Force Awakens, the Star Wars galaxy was filled with countless alien species, but only one African-American. Finally, the future of franchise is looking culturally accurate.