Star Wars Celebration kicked off today with the iconic Mark Hamill's hour-long panel. For those who couldn't make the trip to London for this massive event, LucasFilm will live-streaming several of the biggest panels throughout the weekend. Now we have a live stream of one of today's biggest highlights, a panel showcasing the upcoming spinoff Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Secret mission? What plans? What are you talking about? Find out, when Gareth Edwards - director of the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - joins Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and some special guests for a revealing can't-miss Rogue One panel! For those who can't get in to the Celebration Stage at Star Wars Celebration, the presentation will also be streamed to the Galaxy Stage and BTSS. We're not quite sure who the special guests will be, but it has been all but confirmed that Disney will showcase a new trailer during this panel.
Rogue One is the first Star Wars movie that won't be taking place in the episodic Star Wars timeline, and it will take place between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The plot will center around a band of Rebels led by Felicity Jones' character Jyn Erso, who are tasked with stealing the plans for the Death Star, which are used to destroy the battlestation in the first Star Wars. It was also recently confirmed that Darth Vader will indeed be in the movie and that James Earl Jones will be returning to voice the legendary villain.
While we have known for quite some time that Felicity Jones is Jyn Erso, we finally got confirmation on who the rest of the main characters really are. Diego Luna is playing Captain Cassian Andor, a Rebel intelligence officer tasked with keeping Jyn Erso in check, with Donnie Yen plays Chirrut Imwe, a character who isn't actually a Jedi knight, but believes in their ways. He has used his spirituality to overcome his blindness and become a great warrior. He believes that there is still something greater out there protecting us, even though the Jedi order is no longer around.
Jiang Wen's Baze is devoted to protecting Chirrut, even though he doesn't believe in the Jedi way. Mads Mikkelsen's character is actually Jyn's father, Galen Erso. As previously rumored, Galen Erso is said to be the galactic version of nuclear bomb inventor J. Robert Oppenheimer, whose knowledge is sought by both the Empire and the Rebels. Ben Mendelsohn's Director Orson Krennic is an Imperial leader who uses his squad of Deathtroopers to wipe out the resistance to get in the good graces of the Emperor, while avoiding Darth Vader, who is said to be his "enforcer." Take a look at the live stream video below, and be sure to check back later today for the full trailer revealed during this panel.