ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY December 16, 2016

This post will have the official information for ROGUE ONE, part of the STAR WARS ANTHOLOGY series of stand-alone films released in between STAR WARS Episodes VII, VIII, and IX.  ROGUE ONE tells the story of the daring Rebel Alliance mission to steal the plans to the Empire’s Death Star.  The STAR WARS ANTHOLOGY film will star Felicity Jones, and is directed by Gareth Edwards.  ROGUE ONE’s scheduled for theatrical release on December 16, 2016.  Current timeline for STAR WARS films include: STAR WARS VII (12/18/15), ROGUE ONE (12/16/16), STAR WARS VIII (5/26/17), Untitled Han Solo film (5/25/18), STAR WARS IX (2019).  Continue reading for all the news, images, and trailers for STAR WARS ANTHOLOGY: ROGUE ONE, and we’ll continue to update this post as more information becomes available.

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

From Lucasfilm Ltd.

Update August 15, 2015

Lucasfilm announced their first film in the new standalone Star Wars stories series, ROGUE ONE, has begun principal photography. Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla,” “Monsters”) is directing ROGUE ONE which tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star. The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and is slated for a December 16, 2016 release.

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

ALAN HORN (Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios) at D23 EXPO 2015 (Disney/Image Group LA)

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

L to R: Actors Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen. Photo by Jonathan Olley ©Lucasfilm 2016

 

The filmmakers have assembled a stellar cast, including Felicity Jones, nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in “The Theory of Everything”; Diego Luna, who was featured in 2008’s Oscar-winning “Milk” and the critically acclaimed “Killing Them Softly”; Ben Mendelsohn, recently nominated for an Emmy for his leading role in “Bloodline” and co-starring in the upcoming “Mississippi Grind”; Donnie Yen, Hong Kong action star and martial artist who starred in “Ip Man” and “Blade II”; Jiang Wen, who co-wrote, produced , directed and starred in the award-winning “Let the Bullets Fly” and “Devils on the Doorstep”; Forest Whitaker, recently featured in the critically-acclaimed Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” and winner of an Academy Award for his leading role in 2006’s “The Last King of Scotland; Mads Mikkelsen, who starred in “The Hunt” and was the memorable villain from 2006’s “Casino Royale”;  Alan Tudyk,  who plays a performance-capture character in “Rogue One,” stars in the soon-to-be-released “Con Man” series and “Trumbo,” which releases this November; and Riz Ahmed, who was recently featured in “Nightcrawler” and starred in the BAFTA-winning film “Four Lions.”

ROGUE ONE takes place before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar to the Star Wars universe,” says Kathleen Kennedy. “It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential Star Wars feel that fans have come to know. Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for ROGUE ONE.

Veteran ILM visual effects supervisor John Knoll, who shares a long history with the Star Wars movies, dating back to the mid-1990s, originated the idea for the movie. Allison Shearmur (“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Cinderella”), John Knoll, Simon Emanuel (“The Dark Knight Rises,” “Fast & Furious 6”) and Jason McGatlin (“Tintin,” “War of the Worlds”) are executive producers. Kiri Hart and John Swartz (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) are co-producers.

To create the lived-in, realistic feel of ROGUE ONE, Edwards chose Greig Fraser (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Foxcatcher”) to be his director of photography and Neil Corbould (“Black Hawk Down,” “Gladiator,” “Saving Private Ryan”) to be his special effects supervisor.  Star Wars and Lucasfilm veteran Doug Chiang (“Star Wars: Episodes I-II,” “Forrest Gump”) and Neil Lamont (supervising art director for the “Harry Potter” series, “Edge of Tomorrow”) will be the production designers. Additional crew members will include stunt coordinator Rob Inch (“World War Z,” Marvel’s “Captain America: The First Avenger”), creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan (“Prometheus”) and co-costume designers Dave Crossman (costume supervisor for the “Harry Potter” series, “Saving Private Ryan”) and Glyn Dillon (costume concept artist for “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” “Jupiter Ascending”).

Original post from July 8, 2015 follows below

ROGUE ONE is the title for the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga. ROGUE ONE will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz). The first actress cast is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim for her performance in The Theory of Everything. The idea for the story of ROGUE ONE came from John Knoll, an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic. He will executive produce along with Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds). Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) are on board to produce and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co-produce. The film starts shooting this summer in London and is due for release on December 16, 2016.

Felicity Jones

Felicity Jones as “Jill Finkel” in TRUE STORY. Photos by Mary Cybulski. Copyright © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved.

 

Kathleen Kennedy revealed during Star Wars Celebration Anaheim that the upcoming big screen adventures that explore the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga will be known as the Star Wars Anthology Series.

Up until now, details around the first entry in the Anthology Series, Gareth Edwards’ ROGUE ONE, have been minimal. Edwards revealed that the film will revolve around a rogue band of resistance fighters who unite for a daring mission to steal the Death Star plans and bring new hope to the galaxy. “I couldn’t sit in a cinema and know that someone else made this film,” Edwards said in the panel. Fans attending Star Wars Celebration Anaheim were treated to concept art and a brief video that caused a packed house to erupt.

star wars anthology rogue one

Several ROGUE ONE crew members attached to the production include director of photography Greig Fraser (Foxcatcher, Zero Dark Thirty), special effects supervisor Neil Corbould (Gravity, Gladiator), casting director Jina Jay (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, War Horse), and sound designer Chris Scarabosio (There Will be Blood, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith).

Star Wars veterans transitioning from THE FORCE AWAKENS to ROGUE ONE include co-production designers Doug Chiang (Star Wars Episodes I & II) and Neil Lamont (supervising art director for the Harry Potter series, Edge of Tomorrow), stunt coordinator Rob Inch (World War Z, Captain America: The First Avenger), creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan (Prometheus) and co-costume designers Dave Crossman (costume supervisor for the Harry Potter series, Saving Private Ryan), and Glyn Dillon (costume concept artist for Kingsman: The Secret Service, Jupiter Ascending).

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About Dave Parfitt

Married, father of two girls, and living in the heart of the Finger Lakes. I'm a runner with a PhD in neuroscience and a passion for travel.