Thoughts on Star Wars: Rogue One

I still get chills when I see that shimmering logo: Star Wars around any title, and even watching a trailer with the sound off (my wife was still asleep this morning) I can hear the sad, longing sound of Binary Sunset as a prelude to the excitement of the theme.

I read this morning that the next Rogue One trailer is going to feature one of my favorite characters of all time, Darth Vader. It's great to see him coming back to the screen, though part of me is a bit sad because we'll only ever get to see new Darth Vader material in "flashback" movies—but I'm also consoled by the fact that if Rogue One does well, and if it is as good as it looks, we'll probably get more. The period of the Rebellion in Star Wars is one which hasn't been explored as in-depth as that of the Republic at this point (i.e. it hasn't had as many EU series on TV and in film at this point as the Clone Wars, etc.) So there's a lot of room for story telling, and since Darth Vader is the big-baddie of the time period it's likely we'll see a lot more of him (woot!).

If you haven't watched Star Wars:Rebels, you should. Go now and get caught up. It's done by some of the same people who did Star Wars: The Clone Wars (animated series), and both are quite excellent. Rebels explores the twilight years of the Jedi. They've been broken by Order 66, and are being hunted down and destroyed by the emperor's inquisitors, and of course, Darth Vader himself. We get to see a few old friends return in this series (I won't give it away), and we get to see how the Rebellion formed in the first place, which is a cool story in itself. The two are kind of companion pieces, at least it seems that way to me, as one tells the beginning of the Rebellion and the other tells the beginning of the Empire's end. I'm happy to see Disney exploring this rich time period with such excellent material, and have high hopes for Rogue One.

The new trailer comes out next week. Something tells me, it's gonna rock.

Below is the first Rogue One Trailer for your enjoyment.