Film - Rogue One, New Hopes and Fears

Our own young Jedi, Kraig Taylor-Bryant watched the recent Star Wars Rogue One trailer and gives his thoughts on what it might mean for the new film...

Ok, I think the best way for me to tackle this is to describe the events I consider significant in the trailer in the order they happen. First of all, the opening sequence shows a desert planet of sorts, which deeply concerns me due to the fact that many of the Star Wars films already include desert planets themselves, four out of seven of them to be precise. We know from the previous trailer that this planet is going to be the focus of a large amount or even maybe the majority of the film so I hope that this planet is not completely “sand based”. In future films they could use types of planets which have not been featured as much within the trilogies such as forest planets, cities in the sky or maybe an underwater city/planet. Yes, I know a lot of us hated Jar Jar and the Ewoks but that doesn't mean we should ignore the settings they originated from entirely.

Further on, it seems that there is also a rocky type planet where the character Baze Malbus is seen aiming at Stormtroopers saying 'they destroyed our home'. This suggests that there may be an interesting back story for this character as well as a new setting. As the trailer continues, though, it seems that Chirrut Imwe, "the guy with the stick", is yet another character in the Star Wars story that has knowledge of the force without using it, other examples being Moz from The Force Awakens and Supreme Leader Snoke. This confuses me because there are many secrets of the Jedi and Sith which cannot be accessed by people who simply posses knowledge of the force. It would however completely change my opinion of his character if he was some sort of Jedi gone rogue.

The atmosphere created as the trailer progresses is quite dark and ominous which I do like as it is a completely different theme compared to other Star Wars films. I applaud the director for taking such a risk and I think that, as well as focusing on the rebel aspects in the film, it may also focus on the whole Imperial side, as opposed to only on Darth Vader, as he is confirmed to be featured in the film. The genre appears to have changed slightly this time too as, when the trailer starts to build up the pace, it feels to me a lot more like an action film, which may be a good thing or a bad thing. The action definitely intrigues me enough to watch the film (and of course the fact that it is a Star Wars film). When the trailer nears the end it seems to me like Jyn Erso will be the 'last woman standing' in the team as she is seen as the last person in the scene where she confronts a tie fighter. This makes the film appear more thrilling and I wonder if even any of them will survive.

One of my biggest hopes for the film though is that Darth Vader's role will include him confronting Jyn as the last one of her team. The fact that Jyn is limping in one of the last scenes featuring her in the trailer hints that she may not survive, or perhaps one of her friends is piloting the tie fighter, something which, for me, would be a bit disappointing. It would be good if it ends with her sacrificing herself to get the plans to either Bail Organa or one of the other rebels, as I don't believe Leia will make an appearance this time due to the age difference between A New Hope and now. I definitely think too that it would show the audience the true power of the Empire when it was at its strongest and the rebels at their weakest if, instead of having the film end in victory with maybe one main character dying, it would end with all the main characters dying. This would make the film way more interesting for me as it would make it much more unpredictable. Otherwise, if all of them survive, then I think the film would not differentiate itself enough from other Star Wars films.

Just now I think a lot of Star Wars fans predict that a lot of the characters would survive the ending and therefore everything in the film could easily have been guessed correctly before even watching it. After all, we already know that the rebel alliance will get away with the Death Star plans one way or another, otherwise A New Hope wouldn’t exist. I therefore believe that the feeling of unpredictability is vital to a film, especially one where you can already predict the outcome of an important event.

Image - IMDb