Rogue One… Official Title and Cast Photo

By Reggie's Take on August 16, 2015

Everyone maybe looking forward to this December and Episode VII, but Disney didn’t forget about the first stand-alone movie due out in 2016, Rogue One.

The first stand-alone Star Wars movie “Rogue One” got some well deserved attention and considering we haven’t heard much about the film was one of the bigger high-lights to come out of D23 on Saturday.

Now officially being called Rogue One: A Star Wars Story it’s being directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) from a script written by Chris Weitz. As you see below Disney and Lucasfilm might be moving away from the anthology tag.

The first official cast photo for Rogue One was also shared on Saturday at D23 and from the looks of the image Rogue One will have a much grittier and grimier look and feel then your average Star Wars movie. The ragtag group of fighters has obvious had it rough while living under and fighting the Empire’s oppressive rule.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has already begun principal photography in order to be ready for the films release in December of 2016.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story / Disney-Lucasfilm / 2016

Disney and Lucasfilm have hired what amounts to be a talented cast for Rogue One. The cast includes Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Mads Mikkelsen and Alan Tudyk.

There has been no official word as to who everyone’s characters are, but from the cast that’s listed above I’m really hoping that Mads Mikkelsen who played the Bond villain in Casino Royale is part of the Empire.

Reggie’s Take:
The big rumor that could have me more excited for Rogue One then “The Force Awakens” is the possibility of seeing Darth Vader in some form or fashion. It’s been rumored we could see Vader pulling the strings for the Empire much like we saw the Emperor doing so in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Even knowing that Vader meets his fate in Jedi it would still be very cool to see the dark Lord of the Sith up on the big screen one more time.

Lets face it Vader has to be one of the top five if not the top bad-ass of all time when it comes to villains up on the big screen.

Current Star Wars release dates:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters on December 18th, 2015
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on December 16th, 2016
Star Wars: Episode VIII on May 26th, 2017
Han Solo Star Wars Anthology film on May 25th, 2018
Star Wars: Episode IX expected to hit theaters in 2019
The third Star Wars Anthology film in 2020.