Lucasfilm/Disney(LONDON) — The panel for the highly-anticipated stand-alone movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story began Friday in London at Star Wars Celebration, but before the festivities happened, host Gwendoline Christie led a moment of silence for the victims of Nice, France.
“It’s impossible for us to sit here at celebration…without thinking of the terrible events that happened not far form here,” the Game of Thrones and Force Awakens star said. “Our hearts go out to the people in Nice, France.”
The audience then broke into the French National Anthem, La Marseillaise, to loud applause.
The plot of Rogue One focuses on a group of rebel heroes coming together on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. It hits theaters December 16.
A new poster and a new sneak peek trailer for the film were also revealed Friday. The poster features a new planet called Scariff, which director Gareth Edwards told the panel was his favorite because it was filmed on location in the Maldives.
The sneak peek shows action featuring stars including Felicity Jones and Diego Luna, and has behind-the-scenes interviews with Jones and director Gareth Edwards. “The pressure is so high,” Edwards says about directing a stand-alone film connected to one of his favorite films of all time.
The clip also shows a slew of droids and interesting characters, all part of the conflict. The clip ends with Jones telling her comrades, “May the Force be with us.”
During the panel, Jones was also presented with her own Jyn Erso action figure — the first from the movie.
Details were also released about the new characters:
K-2SO (played by Alan Tudyk)
Tudyk said he’s a 7’1 droid that has been reprogrammed and is the best friend of Cassian, played by Diego Luna. K-250 is crucial to the Rebellion. His data has been wiped and that may play a key role. “He speaks his mind and says things that can be unsettling, just very honest,” Tudyk said.
Chirrut (Donnie Yen)
He’s a blind warrior who believes in the Force.
Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn)
“He is a different kind of Imperial villain,” Mendelsohn said. “”He’s smarter than most of his predecessors.”
Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen)
Jyn’s father. Mikkelsen says of his character, “He is a scientist, and he at one point invented something so beautiful .. it might change the universe.”
Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker)
He’s been fighting for years against the Empire, Whitaker said, controlling a group of rebels that fight to “the extreme. …By any means necessary, he’ll do what he needs to do to save the world,” he added, noting that Saw has been trained by the Jedi.
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