Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is barrelling down on its December 16 release date and Disney’s marketing machine is currently firing on all cylinders.
In the past week alone, we’ve caught wind of tantalizing new images and clips for the Gareth Edwards anthology movie, while Rogue One is also the current cover star of Empire magazine, signalling a new look at our Rebel fighters suited, booted and ready to stage the greatest heist in all the galaxy. If you’ve seen A New Hope, you’ll already know the basic premise: “During the battle [on and above Scarif], Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.”
That’s a good thing, too, considering Rogue One will go down as the first Star Wars movie to ditch the franchise’s opening crawl. According to Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, it’s another way for the creative team to differentiate between the anthology movies and Disney’s core saga, which will surely carry over to Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo spinoff in two years’ time.
Speaking of Disney’s future slate, are we asking too much for the Mouse House to unveil the first teaser for Star Wars: Episode VIII alongside Rogue One next month? Perhaps, but don’t rule it out entirely.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as it approaches its December 16 launch. If early box office forecasts are to be believed, the first of Disney and Lucasfilm’s planned anthology films is eyeing an opening weekend in the region of $130 million across North America, which would secure its place as the second biggest domestic opening for December behind The Force Awakens.