International Rogue One Trailer Packs In Tons Of New Footage, Including Darth Vader

Darth Vader in Rogue One

We are weeks away from the Rebellion getting the upperhand on that evil Empire when Rogue One: A Star Wars Story invades theaters on December 16. Felicity Jones plans to lead a team of rebels on a mission to retrieve the Death Star plans, though she'll have to face down Darth Vader, as this is a pesky prequel. Speaking of Lord Vader, he shows face in this full international trailer, which just dropped. Give this a spin!

The footage expands on a lot of what we saw in the previous Rogue One trailers, giving more meat to the scenes and backfilling more information on Jyn Erso, her past, and her recruitment into the Rebellion by Mon Mothma. For those of you who have made it this far, this story -- as directed by Godzilla helmer Gareth Edwards -- follows the rebels who manage to steal the plans to the Death Star that eventually lead into the events of Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope. So it's a prequel, but also a sequel to Revenge of the Sith. And also a standalone solo movie. But it's place on the Star Wars timeline explains why this dude is able to show face.

I like to think that, the way this trailer is cut, they are suggesting that Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso will get at least ONE confrontational scene with Lord Vader (voiced once again by James Earl Jones), because so far, the brief glimpses that we have seen with him in the Rogue One trailer have him sharing scenes with the movie's true Big Bad, Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). But why bring back Vader if you aren't going to properly use him, right?

Beyond the return of Darth Vader this international Rogue One spot gives us more character beats with the supporting players we will be introduced to alongside Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones). They'll all be called to fight in the Rebellion, though it seems like the real scene stealer her, per the usual Star Wars playbook, will be a droid. K-2SO, played by Alan Tudyk, lowers expectations for the mission, telling all involved, "There is a 97.6% chance of failure."

The same can't be said of the movie. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is expected to take the Star Wars universe in a new direction, proving that the studio is able to tell stories outside of the Saga (which will be continued in Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode 8). And if it succeeds, we'll have the solo Young Han Solo movie to look forward to in a few years. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens in theaters on December 16.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.