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ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016): EW Cover, Character Details, & Darth Vader

Darth Vader Rogue One A Star Wars Story Logo

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story EW Cover, Character Details, Darth Vader

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘s July 1, 2016 issue of Entertainment Weekly has new images and main character information, including about Darth Vader. The character descriptions are very illuminating, especially the relationship between Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen). I wasn’t expecting that. Forest Whitaker’s character in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was also a surprise.

I assumed Darth Vader would be in this film since he was dispatched to track down the stolen Death Star plans, he had a leadership role within the Death Star, and he was eventually placed in control of construction on the second Death Star. It always stood to reason that he would be around for the completion and testing of the first Death Star.

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The new Rogue One: A Star Wars Story character information brought to light:

Jyn Erso

Felicity Jones stars as Jyn Erso, whose “got a checkered past. She has been detained [by the Rebellion] and is being given an opportunity to be useful. And by being useful, it may commute her sentence.”

Captain Cassian Andor

Diego Luna stars as Captain Cassian Andor, whose “by-the-book Rebel intelligence officer.” He is “committed, steady, and practical, and has seen more than his share of combat. He conveys a fair amount of experience and the reality of what it’s like to do this every day, to try to figure out how to resist the Empire effectively and intelligently”

Chirrut Imwe

Donnie Yen stars as Chirrut Imwenot, who is not actually a jedi but a man “devoted to their ways” who has used his spiritual beliefs to overcome his own physical handicap of blindness. “Chirrut falls into the category of being a warrior monk. He very much still believes in everything the Jedi were about.”

Baze Malbus

Jiang Wen stars as Baze Malbus,  a “heavily armored” man and the friend of Chirrut.

Bodhi Rook

Riz Ahmed stars as Bodhi Rook, the “hot-headed” lead pilot of Jyn Erso’s unit.

K-2SO

Alan Tudyk stars as K-2SO, a cyborg that is “the antithesis of C-3PO. Kaytoo is a little bit like Chewbacca’s personality in a droid’s body. He doesn’t give a s— about what you think. He doesn’t fully check himself before he says things and does things. He just speaks the truth.”

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Galen Erso

Mads Mikkelsen stars as Galen Erso, the estranged father of Jyn. Galen is the J. Robert Oppenheimer of the Star Wars universe, a scientist that the Rebels and the Empire want to exploit to their own ends. “He’s one of those people that has insight into, you know, specific aspects of just how the universe works.”

Director Orson Krennic

Ben Mendelsohn stars as Director Orson Krennic, the main antagonist in the film but not the only one. Darth Vader has been confirmed for screen time in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Director Krennic is the leader of the all black-wearing Deathtroopers. Krennic hopes to crush the Rebellion with the Deathtroopers, avoid the wrath of Darth Vader, and gain the esteem of the Emperor.

Saw Gerrera

Forest Whitaker stars as Saw Gerrera, a battered veteran who leads a band of Rebel extremists. He’s on the fringe of the Rebel Alliance. “Saw may be an ally to the Rebel squad in Rogue One, he’s not really one of them, as his partisans have been accused of terrorist tactics.” Whitaker stars as the live-action version of the animated character first seen on Disney XD’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In that TV series, Gerrera fought beside the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker on Planet Onderon.

About the Empire during Rogue One: A Star Wars Story:

“There is a lot of palace intrigue going on in the Empire, with people conspiring to move up the ranks and sabotaging each other. There’s not a lot of loyalty there.”

Entertainment Weekly Rogue One: A Star Wars Story July 2016 Cover

Entertainment Weekly Rogue One: A Star Wars Story July 1, 2016 Cover

Entertainment Weekly Rogue One: A Star Wars Story July 2016 Cover

Gareth Edwards‘ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story also stars Alistair Petrie, Jonathan Aris, Genevieve O’Reilly, Arthur L. Bernstein, Emeson Nwolie, Sam Wilkinson, and Wen Jiang.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘s plot synopsis: “Rogue One tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star.”

Leave your thoughts on the official Rogue One: A Star Wars Story character descriptions and the inclusion of Darth Vader in the film (via Entertainmentweekly) below in the comments section. Readers seeking more movie news, visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Twitter Page, our Movie News Facebook Page, and our Movie News Google+ Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook. Rogue One: A Star Wars will be released in U.S. theaters through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on December 16, 2016.

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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