The flood gates have started to open on Rogue One with MakingStarWars(MSW) leading the charge once again. We’ve also got Rebels rumors and some Episode VIII news out there in the world. So strap yourselves in and remember Spoilers ahead.
1) JoBlo has new character descriptions for Rogue One and more!
davestrrr: I think the speculation on Alan Tudyk is interesting. I’ve seen other reports that he is playing a droid. We are pretty sure he is a mo-cap character, so this is the best lead. The Vader stuff is awesome. I’m really hoping that Vader is stepped up in badassery, in that his moves surpass that of the OT. Although it could be weird if he is too awesome compared to ESB etc, it could still be understood that he is holding back, or weakened in the OT. They could make it work. the Shadow Troopers (“Death” troopers) have a lot of potential, but might need to work into the story that they are all killed off or something to explain where they go.
mazlow01: I like the idea of “Death Troopers” but why would they show up here and never be seen in the OT before? Those type of things bother me. I can definetly see Tudyk being a scene stealer even as a droid so that rumor works for me. Finally the name Cashen sounds like Star Wars… I like it.
2) MSW has reports of Vader being “active” in Rogue one
davestrrr: Some of these descriptions are awesome. I want to see Vader throwing his saber and using the Force to pull it back. Of course the difficulty is explaining why his fighting was so basic against Obi Wan in ANH, but hopefully they can come up with an explanation, like an injury in Rogue One that explains it. Not sure if there is enough time between Rogue One and ANH to make sense for that, but that is at least a way to make it work. Either way, it would be worth it to see Vader kick ass for it to be out of character with the other films.
mazlow01: I do want to see Vader kick ass just once on screen. While he was great against Luke I really do want to see him just destroy regular troops. We’ve never gotten Full Metal Vader on screen.
3) MSW has code names on the different factions in Rogue One
davestrrr: This was the article that confirms Tudyk as a droid that I was referencing above. Beyond that, I’m not sure what these codenames tell us…
mazlow01: Once again we have Tudyk as a droid which is working for me. I do think we can get SOMETHING from the code names. Seals as good guys works as it would seem they are capable but can be taken out buy Sharks… which is the bad guys code name. Eels for the third faction… slimy untrustworthy… bounty hunters, a hive a scum and villiany! Love it!
4) MSW gives descriptions on NEW character in Rogue One
davestrrr: Fancy white capes? Reminds me of Grievous. The golden colored field where Mads Mikkelson’s character standing is interesting and reminds me of the fields on Lothal. Could it be? Could be cool if they went to the Jedi temple or something.
mazlow01: I am not sure what to make of this character. It almost makes me think of the “bad guy” from the courtship of Princess Leia which is terrible.
5) A couple of costumes from Rogue One were featured at the Nuremberg toy show.
davestrrr: We’ve seen a lot of these and this looks a lot like the one photo we have from Rogue One already. Very reminscent of the OT and ESB for sure.
mazlow01: These match up with what we have seen so far, very ANH but darker. If anything these guys are even more rag-tag than the rebels of ANH.
6) There are some conceptual ideas that lead some to think Tarkin is going to to be in Rogue One.
davestrrr: Tarkin would be cool potentially, but I don’t know how they would do it. Some sort of CGI with Peter Cushing’s image super-imposed on someone else? I would guess the technology is there to do this, but it would have to be done sparingly, and in low-light. This kind of stuff sucks when they push it too far beyond what is believable.
mazlow01: I have to say I hope he’s not in it. Tarkin has been shown in Rebels which is enough for now. Vader is good to go for the bad guy role I don’t need Tarkin again with him.
7) Some hints on Forrest Whitaker’s role and more
davestrrr: Again with Making Star Wars? These guys are getting all the scoops. Yeah, given his age, I see him as an older Rebel, or some sort of seasoned veteran of the Clone Wars somehow. The robot leg is a cool play on the pirate motif, so maybe he could be some sort of Space pirate character? That would be cool. With a “steelpecker” on his shoulder? Wow, that sounds dirty when I type it.
mazlow01: So he’s affiliated with the “Eels” we mentioned before but is a good guy. I think he’s the Han Solo type in our proverbial cantina.
8) Looks like Episode VII is going to Croatia to film
davestrrr: To me, a lot of the images we’ve seen of this area looks like Ach-to, but I don’t know. There could be a medieval planet, if they use some of the same locations as Game of Thrones. This one is totally open to lots of possibilities.
mazlow01: Something about how this looks reminds me of where we last saw Luke and Rey. I would not be surprised if this was used as a fill in shooting spot to make the world of Ahch-To larger. Or it could be something completely different, maybe more of Maz’s world?
9) Three cast members and Rian Johnson tease the start of production of Episode VIII
davestrrr: The cast has read the script, and everyone seems to love it. Not sure how much of it will be changed with the re-writes, or to what extent the re-writes will affect anything. It’s exciting to know that another Star Wars film is beginning to film!
mazlow01: Well it appears the Cast is in England and ready to film… Awesome!
10) Bob Iger confirms what we already knew about more Star Wars films
davestrrr: Yep, could have guessed this. They aren’t going to let this cash-cow die any time soon.
mazlow01: You mean Disney spent 4 billion and wants to keep making even more Star Wars? Shocking.
11) Could Thrawn be canon again with a Rebels appearance?
davestrrr: Thrawn would be cool. Better yet, it would be cool if he shows up in the ST in some capacity. I’ve been thinking for a long time that they will have a cartoon about the times between RotJ and TFA, with Luke Skywalker, Han, and Leia as the main characters. That would be cool and allow them to revisit Thrawn more. Let’s see how they deal with this.
mazlow01: No! Please no! I get it Thrawn was great and that trilogy kicked off the EU but please let it die. The last thing I want is EU fans getting all hot and bothered again. And Thrawn shtick was overplayed by the end of the trilogy, not to mention it doesn’t seem like it would work in the micro world of Rebels.
12) New Rebels Episode descriptions
davestrrr: Finally, some real episode descriptions! Only a couple, and not too much to go on. I can only hope that the Ice planet that Zeb an Kallus end up on is “Ilum”. That or I guess Hoth could be cool. I want to learn more about Ilum so, my vote is for that. Connections to the Clone Wars with Cham Syndulla will also be very cool. Looking forward to the rest of this season! I have a feeling that the episodes that we really want to see will come at the end.
mazlow01: That last one sounds pretty awesome and I do love that they are finally focusing on our non-jedi Characters. MOAR please.