Rogue One: A Star Wars Story at Star Wars Celebration – What we learnt

July 15-17 2016 is a massively important period for Star Wars fans from across the galaxy. It’s Star Wars Celebration of course, a celebration of all things (you guessed it) Star Wars. I like to think of it as a comic-con specifically for Star Wars and the colossal fan base it has accumulated over the last 40 years. There was cast panels, live appearances (including Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill), cosplay contests and exciting sneak-peaks of upcoming projects. The first Star Wars celebration was held back in 1999 in Denver, before the first release in the second generation Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

One of the main talking points from the three-day event was the cast/crew panel for the new standalone film series: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Hosted by Captain Phasma herself, Gwendoline Christie. This was the first real look at the film since it was announced last year with appearances from with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy joining cast members Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Alan Tudyk, Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker and Ben Mendehlson on stage it certainly did not disappoint. Here’s what we learnt:

1. Rouge One takes us to new dimensions.

The stand-alone film will take us to never seen before locations in the galaxy. Jyn Erso and her band of rebels will travel to never seen before plates Scarif and Jedah. Gareth Edwards (director) described the latter as “the Mecca of Star Wars, where people go on pilgrimages”, he also added “It’s a spiritual home of the Jedi.” We’re not too sure how this fits in with the Rogue One storyline just yet, which proves we still have lots to learn.

The second planet Scarif, is the setting for the new, jaw-dropping promotional poster, which was also revealed at the panel (see below). The poster shows storm troopers and rebel forces clashing on a beach. Filmed in the Maldives, this planet is like a tropical paradise and footage from the sizzle-reel (watch) shows storm troopers wading through the turquoise coloured sea. This is what Edwards had to say about Scarif; “We tried to use real-world locations and it just so happened that Rogue One was partly set in this paradise world, so we had to go to paradise to film it.”

2. Darth Vader WILL appear.

We already knew that the famous villain was set to appear in the new film, but there hadn’t been any footage, until now. Those lucky enough to be in attendance were treated to a new trailer for the film, which I’m sure was EPIC. However, us padawans must wait for the trailers much anticipated release, The new trailer also showed a glimpse of the sith lord Vader himself, all be it a short reflection accompanied by the sound of that mechanical-like breathing, it’ an appearance to get us excited nonetheless.

3. There’s some new-look Imperial Storm-troopers

There was a look at the new imperial storm-troopers which will try and put a stop to the resistance. Known as the Shoretrooper, the panel didn’t go into detail about the shoretroopers, but what we do know is that they will patrol the beaches, guarding a top secret military headquarters. This is most likely where Jyn Erso and co will try to infiltrate to complete their mission, but only time will tell. The shoretroopers look a step up from the regular imperial storm troopers, with marine-esque armour and a meaner look about them. We’ve already seen from the poster and sizzle-reel that the sides will clash on the beaches, so this is where we will probably see the shoretroopers in action.

4. First look at character Galen Erso

Whilst we’d already learnt that Mads Mikkelsen will play Jyn Erso’s father, Galen Erso. This was further confirmed at the panel. We also got to see an image of Mikkelsen’s character in full costume. Galen Erso is one of the few characters that has been shrouded in secrets and haven’t seen any footage of as yet. So Mikkelsen teased fans with an interesting line about Galen’s past “he once invented something so beautiful, so fantastic that it could change the universe.” There’s early rumours he may have had a hand in designing the death star himself. Oooh wouldn’t that make it interesting but we’ll have to wait and see.

Our next Star Wars film fix, for those for you that don’t know, is about a group of resistance fighters, led by female protagonist Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) that unite to steal plans for the dreaded death star. Rouge One: A Star Wars Story will be released December 16^th and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Alan Tudyk, Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker and Ben Mendehlson.