Disney and Lucasfilm announced today at the D23 Expo that principal photography has begun on Star Wars: Rogue One, the first film in the new standalone Star Wars Anthology — a series of spinoffs that expand upon the Star Wars universe.
Set between the third (Revenge of the Sith) and fourth (A New Hope) films in the core Star Wars saga, Rogue One tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star. A brief teaser trailer along with concept art was shown at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year and eventually leaked online, but this is the first official image we've seen of what looks to be the principal cast.
We've known of Felicity Jones (The The Theory of Everything) involvement for a while now, but other cast members include Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Forest Whitaker (The Butler), Mads Mikkelsen (THe Hunt), Alan Tudyk (Con Man), and Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler).
“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 theStar Wars universe,” explained Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who is producing the film. “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.’"
Star Wars: Rogue One is scheduled to hit theaters on December 16, 2016.
In other D23 Star Wars news, Lucasfilm also released the first poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh film in the core Star Wars saga, releasing December 15, 2015. Check it out the poster here.
