Details from D23 -
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/15/star-wars-rogue-one-cast-announced
Felicity Jones, an Oscar nominee for last year’s
The Theory of Everything, had previously been the only cast member revealed, although there were plenty of rumors about various actors who may be joining her.
Now we know for sure, even if we have no idea who they’ll be playing: Diego Luna (
Milk,
Killing Them Softly); Ben Mendelsohn (
Bloodline); Forest Whitaker (
Lee Daniels’ The Butler); Mads Mikkelsen (NBC’s
Hannibal); Hong Kong action star and martial artist Donnie Yen; Jiang Wen (
Let the Bullets Fly); Riz Ahmed (
Four Lions,
Nightcrawler), and Alan Tudyk (a veteran of another space war in
Firefly and its big-screen spin-off
Serenity), who will give life to a motion-capture character.
The movie focuses on a story hinted at in the original 1977
Star Wars film — in fact, it’s what launches the entire journey. Someone stole the Empire’s plans for the Death Star, which is why Darth Vader intercepted Princess Leia’s ship on its “diplomatic mission” in the first scene of that movie.
But who stole those schematics? Who is responsible for helping Luke Skywalker and the rest of his X-Wing squadron know where to kick the Death Star right in its exhaust port? And what cost did they pay for that?
“
Rogue One takes place before the events of
Star Wars: A New Hope and will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar to the
Star Wars universe,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement. “It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential
Star Wars feel that fans have come to know. Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for
Rogue One.”
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