After much anticipation, and a couple of Olympic events, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story showed the world what it's made of with its second trailer. It had everything to offer, and delivered it in spades: jokes, action, and memorable images flooded the screen for a little over two minutes. And in that much time, we found several shots that we couldn't help but get extremely excited for! In fact, we'd like to share those moments with you, but before we do, let's watch the new teaser for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story one more time, shall we?
And now, without further ado, the 11 coolest new things we've seen in the latest trailer to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The Might Of The Empire
Towards the start of the trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we see a Star Destroyer orbiting a planet that may or may not be Tatooine. Later footage points to it not being Tatooine, but in either case, it looks like our merry band of thieves will come face to face with a fair amount of Imperial muscle in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Also, this film must take place fairly soon after the initial rollout of said craft, because all of the Star Destroyers look their cleanest in the footage on display here, exhibiting a shiny white coloring instead of the traditional, battle hardened gray we're used to.
Introducing The U Wing
One of the recent promises we've been made when it comes to Rogue One : A Star Wars Story is the unveiling of the U-Wing. A brand new fighter craft, the U-Wing looks to have a two-person cabin that defies traditional fighter design. At least, that's what it looks like with the cockpit footage that's included right after we see the craft's exterior for the first time. With a look reminiscent to the cabin of the Millenium Falcon's cockpit, the U-Wing could make a name for itself among the mid-sized fighter craft in the Star Wars universe.
An Imperial Ambush
While we hate to play favorites, as the entire ensemble of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is packed with talented actors and rich characters, there are two that are already in line as the MVPs of the Rebellion's finest. The first is Baze Malbus, played by actor Jiang Wen. A freelance assassin, Malbus looks like he has some pretty powerful beef with the Empire, as he exclaims, "They destroyed our home!" before lighting up some Stormtroopers with his long range blaster. It may not be the best tactical decision, but it certainly looks awesome, and Wen's performance sells it to the hilt.
A World Of Hurt
Baze Malbus' partner, Chirrut Imwe, is another bad assed member of the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story team. While he is blind, the man is far from defenseless, as he wrecks shop with a cluster of Stormtroopers giving him trouble in this latest trailer. A huge believer in The Force, Imwe is not known to be Force sensitive, but this doesn't stop him from having true faith in the religion that is dormant in this piece of galactic history. With rumors of his death occurring during the events of this film, we can only hope that the recent re-shoots spare him, so that he may kick some more Imperial ass in the years to come.
"The Captain Says You Are A Friend. I Will Not Kill You."
Humor is one of the most important factors in the Star Wars galaxy, considering it really helps prove how severe the situations that occur in its confines usually are. And nowhere has the franchise been more humorous than with its droid counterparts, with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story being no exception, as it introduces us to wisecracker K-2SO. Voiced and performed by Alan Tudyk, the droid has a bit of a British affectation in its voice, with a dry air of the most well intentioned nay-sayer. Think C-3PO, except taller, and more lethal.
The Death Star's Eclipse
While we've seen some Death Star action in our time, we've never seen the fully armed and operational space station as up close and personal as we have in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The image of the ultimate galactic weapon blotting out a sun, as if it were a natural eclipse of some sort, is creepy enough. However, seeing the weapons station orbiting so close to the desert planet that keeps popping up in the footage on display is all the more disturbing, as we know what this new and untested station is more than capable of doing to a planet such as this.
Behold, Orson Krennic
Sometimes, in the profession of acting, a look speaks louder than any dialogue would ever dream to. Case in point is the footage we've seen of Ben Mendelsohn's performance as Orson Krennic, an Imperial stooge who is eager to impress with the construction of the first Death Star. Now we've heard zero words come out of this man's mouth, and yet he's proven to be an intimidating foe. All Mendelsohn has had to do is give the right death glare to the camera, or in some cases just show off the right air of superiority, and he's there. We cannot wait to see what this man is capable of, as this face does not promise happy or fun times.
The Battle On The Beach
We're still trying to figure out which planet all of the beach action takes place on, but wherever it is, it seems to be the home to a lot of action in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In particular, a huge land battle with impressive practical and CGI effects is on the menu, and every time we see a good panning shot of actual extras running from real explosions, it makes us feel like the good old days aren't completely dead. Not to mention, this battle brings us what could be considered the MVP of moments in the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer.
Rocket Launcher vs. AT-AT
If there was one shot that sold us on the possibilities to be had with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it'd have to be this one from the beach battle sequence. Jiang Wen's Baz Maibus takes aim on an AT-AT, which has always been a traditionally difficult vehicle to take down. However, considering this is early on in the Empire's lifecycle, as well as the flames we see engulf the front cabin of the vehicle itself, it looks Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may be the reason the cabin on future, Empire Strikes Back related models were super re-enforced. Also, this moment is pretty bad assed, as it fits the sort of Saving Private Ryan meets Star Wars vibe the film has been giving off for some time.
A Planetary Explosion
Picture this: a brand new, untested Death Star needs to test its weapons somewhere. It's pretty powerful, but not as fully powered as it was in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, and needs to prove its worth. That's exactly what it looks like is happening in this scene, and the couple of frames afterwards. If the footage is pointing towards the conclusion we feel is in play, we're going to see Jyn Erso and company escaping some pretty perilous, planet destroying action.
Lord Vader
After all this time, a glimpse at Lord Vader's first appearance since Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith has finally been revealed. While it initially seemed like his inclusion in the film would be written off to rumor and conjecture, it was eventually revealed that he'd definitely be a part of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's cast. Not only can we confirm that 120% through the footage that's been shown, we can now wonder about just how long and how serious a presence we will.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set to impress audiences world wide on December 16th.
