The first teaser trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has arrived and by the look of things this is a very different take on the beloved space opera series. Directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla), Rogue One is the first of several planned spin-off movies, and is said to take place just before the events of the original film.
In the film, a group led by Felicity Jones sets out to steal plans for the Death Star. The same plans, it seems, that Princess Leia stored in the memory banks of R2-D2 back in 1977. Jones, who we learn is named Jyn Erso in the film, is the focal point of the trailer, painted as a rebel from the start. She's definitely a rogue, as an unnamed authority figure lists her many crimes, including forgery and aggravated assault.
Rogue One represents an effort to expand Star Wars into a more traditional cinematic expanded universe, similar to what Marvel has done in recent years. It will turn Star Wars into an annual event, with Rogue One, Rian Johnson's Episode VIII following one year later, a Han Solo spin-off film coming in 2018, and then Episode IX capping off the Skywalker saga in 2019.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on December 16, 2016.