‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ First Trailer Is Here!

The first teaser for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is here! Good Morning America unveiled the first look at the initial Star Wars spinoff movie, which stands apart from the main saga and takes place after the events of The Revenge of the Sith, but before A New Hope. 

The trailer zooms in right away on Felicity Jones’s character, Jyn Erso. As Jyn appears before Mon Mothma — the Rebel leader from Return of the Jedi and the prequels — we hear a list of crimes Jyn has committed: forgery of Imperial documents, possession of stolen property, aggravated assault, resisting arrest. Mon Mothma then helpfully lists all her Han Solo-ish qualities for us: reckless, aggressive, undisciplined. And Jyn responds in a most Han Solo way: “This is a rebellion, isn’t it? I rebel." 

Then she’s given a mission, which, as promised, forms the central plot of the film: steal the plans for the first Death Star. While the trailer shows several key members of the cast, including Diego Luna (seemingly an ally of the Rebellion), an Imperial-aligned Ben Mendelsohn, an Obi-Wan-esque Forest Whitaker, and a Stormtrooper-brawling Donnie Yen, Jones is undeniably the star, reaffirming that everyone in the Star Wars universe — and the director of this film, Gareth Edwards — are sticking to their guns about pushing female characters to the forefront. Naturally, there will be a lot of conversation about how these characters relate to the ones we already know. Is Jyn — who, like Rey, has been on her own from a young age — somehow related to The Force Awakens heroine? Those kinds of questions will likely be hot topics among Star Wars fans until Dec. 16, 2016, when Rogue One opens and finally answers them.