The last time we were promised a new trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story we got a whole lot of nothing. That was around the time of Star Wars Celebration during a televised special, which would have been the perfect time to drop one. But that didn't happen, and now Disney is promising a trailer once again for this Thursday during the Rio Olympics. . And perhaps to assuage fears we'll be jerked around again, they've released this brief teaser that basically just says, "Trust us"!!
Meanwhile, we're still learning more about the universe 'Rogue One' is set in, and it's both familiar and mysterious at the same time. Something that was teased a little bit in Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the idea that the Force is more than just some mystical power, to some people it's a religion. That idea will be expounded upon in 'Rogue One' on the planet of Jedha, which sounds like a clear allegory to the religion-based conflicts that have torn apart the Middle East. Edwards tells EW...
“The Force is basically in Star Wars like a religion, and they’re losing their faith in the period that we start the movie...We were trying to find a physical location we could go to that would speak to the themes of losing your faith and the choice between letting the Empire win, or evil win, and good prevailing. It got embodied in this place we called Jedha. It’s a place where people who believe in the Force would go on a pilgrimage. It was essentially taken over by the Empire. It’s an occupied territory… for reasons we probably can’t reveal.”
This planet will be the home of Donnie Yen's blind warrior monk, Chirrut Imwe, and his disbelieving protector, Baze Malbuz, played by Jiang Wen. Riz Ahmed's fighter pilot Bodhi Rook will also hail from there.
This is the kind of detail that makes Star Wars different than any other. I could see an entire movie centered on the planet Jedha some time in the future. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens December 16th.
