The new Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer finally dropped, and it was fantastic. One of the biggest moments from the trailer gave us our first look at the man himself: Darth Vader. Take a look.
Oh, holy crap, you guys. It's terrifying, right? In case you haven't seen the absolutely fantastic trailer yet, Darth Vader doesn't make this appearance until the final moments, and I must say, I think that was the most effective way to have him show up on screen. We get a good look at the heroes and what they're going to go up against, and really get into rooting for them and then...BOOM. There's a little bit of Vader to scare us into remembering just how deep this fight is going to be for our heroes. We get just the barest peek at Darth Vader in front of what appears to be a star chart or some other kind of navigational screen, and, well, you see it. A little bit of Darth Vader is all you need to get you shaking in your boots.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will focus on a rag tag group of rebel fighters (and a trusty droid) trying to steal the plans for the Death Star. The main protagonist, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), is a fighter who's been on her own for many years, and has trouble with authority, which is what leads her to find a place among the rebellion. The tale is set during the time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, when resistance to the Galactic Empire has begun to build a lot of momentum. The film will mostly feature non-Jedi fighters against the Empire, and we've been told that characters, and their motivations, will be far less black and white in Rogue One than in other Star Wars movies.
Darth Vader's part in Rogue One was first confirmed when footage was shown at Star Wars Celebration 2016. That footage, however, only treated audiences to a reflection of his image and that iconic scary-as-hell breathing, so tonight's trailer is the first new glimpse we've had of Lord Vader in a long time. So, now that we know, for sure, that he'll be showing up in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we can speculate as to how large the part will be for this classic Big Bad villain. We certainly haven't been given any details on how the character will take part in the story, but with rebels trying to steal something that's very important to his cause, I can bet he'll at least be giving some fierce orders and making his underlings run around while trying their best to not anger him any further.
Personally, I don't see the good guys of Rogue One having too much face time with Darth Vader. If they do, there will likely not be many chances for them to get away from him safely, and we need at least some of our heroes to survive. We can all check out Darth Vader, Jyn Erso and everyone else for ourselves when Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens on December 16.
