Our resident Star Wars junkie is more excited than Jar Jar Binks
Ask any of my colleagues, and they’ll tell you I haven’t shut up about Rogue One since the first trailer was released. In the interest of putting an end to my incessant Star Wars outbursts (and playing “The Imperial March” on loudspeaker, on repeat) I’ve been given this opportunity to get it out of my system. Excited as I am? Well, here are five reasons why I can hardly wait to catch Rogue One in the cinemas.
It’s “Saving Private Ryan in space”
Star Wars is pretty much the codifier of dozens of space fantasy tropes, but as much as I like the formula of the classics, I’m eager to see a grittier movie that focuses on the men and women fighting for the Rebel Alliance. Rogue One is a completely new beast, and takes leave of the more fantastical Star Wars elements like Jedi, Sith and The Force, and instead presents a story that’s more akin to a sci-fi war movie than a space opera.
There’s a compelling villain in Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic
Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic is proof enough that you don’t need a laser sword or space magic to be a truly menacing villain in the Star Wars universe. Krennic appears to be a Machiavellian string puller, one drunk on the unfathomable power of the Death Star. Forgoing the posh British accent that most Imperial officers had in the original movies, Ben Mendelsohn was encouraged to portray his character as more of a working class man. Definitely a multi-faceted character I’d like to see developed in Rogue One.
Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO will crack you up
It wouldn’t really be ‘A Star Wars Story’ without the addition of a few memorable robotic companions, so I am particularly intrigued by Alan Tudyk’s role as K-2SO. The sci-fi legend, famous for his portrayal of Wash on Firefly, donned a motion capture suit to give life to a newly reprogrammed Imperial droid tasked with aiding the rebels. The acerbic, casually violent droid looks like he’s going to offer the film a darker, more deadpan dose of comic relief. But don’t worry BB-8, you’ll always have a place in my heart.
We’ll see Darth Vader on the big screen for the first time since 2005
Now I’m not just saying this as an ardent fan of the franchise, but Darth Vader is truly one of pop culture’s most iconic villains. The original trilogy did show how powerful he was, but we never really saw it on as grand a scale as I’d have hoped for. Revenge of the Sith offered a couple of minutes of screentime, where he did little more than scream in rage (a remarkable scene in its own right, don’t get me wrong). But since the Rogue One trailers have long teased his appearance in this film, I so fervently hope we’ll get to see him at the peak of his power, and as the unstoppable force of evil he really is.
Rogue One ends ten minutes before A New Hope
On that topic, the first five minutes of the latter film introduces us to the Dark Lord of Sith himself, as well as his foul temper. It’s been announced that Rogue One ends 10 minutes before A New Hope begins, so the movie will undoubtedly show audiences just exactly why he was so livid as he throttled poor Captain Antilles on the Tantive IV. It’ll also bring the movie full circle and forever change how we view the events of A New Hope.
Rogue One will be out in cinemas on the 15th of December.