Rogue One Star Wars trailer: A shot-by-shot analysis of the film's first teaser

You had a good two months of not talking about Star Wars but now it's time to talk about Star Wars again.

Christopher Hooton
Thursday 07 April 2016 13:17 BST
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The first trailer for Rogue One dropped today, a standalone Star Wars film directed by Godzilla's Gareth Edwards and centring on a Rebellion plot to steal the Death Star plans.

The one-minute-forty-second teaser is visually pretty spectacular, with some very striking shots, a ton of action and a load of new characters, weapons and classes of Stormtrooper to enter into the Star Wars canon.

Here it is:

And now for a shot-by-shot breakdown, updated as and when we figure out exactly what's going on in each:

The first shot is of our protagonist Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), a tough petty criminal enlisted by the Rebel Alliance to help determine the nature of a major weapons test the Imperials are planning.

As she walks through a slightly dishevelled X-Wing hangar, we hear her rap sheet, which includes "forgery of Imperial documents, possession of stolen property, aggravated assault and resisting arrest".

Mon Mothma! You may remember her briefing the Rebel Alliance on the plan for the Battle of Endor in the original trilogy.

"On your own from the age of 15," she tells Jyn. "Reckless, aggressive and undisciplined."

Mothma is played by Genevieve O’Reilly, who hardcore fans will know played a young Mothma in deleted from Episode III.

Jyn doesn't look particularly bothered by the charges, still has a thin layer of dust from all those assumed desert ragamuffin adventures.

She shares a knowing look with a character whose name we don't know yet, played by Diego Luna.

And now a taste of that 'aggravated assault'. Jyn lays out some Stormtroopers, I think trying to rescue a group of captured Rebel pilots.

She has a little help from an unseen accomplice (I think, the cutting is so fast), who detonates a bomb which blows up the remaining Stormtroopers and their vehicle. Stormtroopers are really having a tough time of it and should probably consider unionising.

We then cut back to her pretty badass response to Mon Mothma: "This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel."

The first chancellor of the New Republic looks quite amused by this.

We then cut to Jyn in a vehicle, perhaps on a desert planet.

And then a shot of a very familiar Star Destroyer.

The finishing touches being put to the Death Star?

That's Utopia and The Night Manager's Alistair Petrie - still no word on what character he is playing - telling Jyn she has little choice but to accept the Death Star mission.

Jyn, apparently having been absolved of her crimes and employed for her thievery skills, heads out to battle alongside Rebel fighter pilots.

Ben Mendelsohn! Looking very vintage Star Wars as a Moff. What a costume.

Stormtroopers, now with tanks!

First look at Forest Whitaker looking pretty terrifying (possibly a Mandalorian, the internet has posited).

That's Mendelsohn again - a beautiful shot of his cape trailing in shallow water littered with Stormtrooper bodies.

Dark Stormtroopers! As seen in the 10-second teaser and video game Star Wars: Battlefront.

Jyn being chased in what looks to be a subway system (possibly filmed on the Jubilee Line on London's Tube).

Gold stormtroopers! Can't see how that would work as camouflage but damnit it looks cool.

There seems to be a bit of a samurai theme in the film, centring around Donnie Yen who literally beats people with a stick in a world where lightsabers exist.

Here he is going to town on an unfortunate Trooper.

More dark Troopers operating some heavy artillery.

An Imperial transport ship gets blown up on a tropical planet.

We're in montage territory now, and this character remains hooded and unseen. What is being guarded in the tube?

A better look at Whitaker.

As yet unknown dude wielding both a gun and some sort of samurai sword/baton?

AT-ATs wipe out Rebels

Jyn leaves her dusty robes behind and gets an incredibly cool, fan art-ready costume at the trailer's close.

This line from Whitaker is ominous though, will Jyn be turned?

"What will you do if they catch you. What will you do if they break you? If you continue to fight, what will you become?"

And there we have it, a pretty exciting trailer with a hell of a lot more to glean from in the coming hours.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits cinemas in December.

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