Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is less than one month away, so I thought it would be valuable
to cover absolutely everything you need to know before seeing the film to make sure you
get the most out of it!
Let’s start with the most important thing you need to know.
This is not Episode VIII!
This is not a sequel to The Force Awakens.
We won’t be seeing Rey, Finn, or Poe.
Rogue One takes place immediately before Episode IV: A New Hope.
It expands upon the opening crawl that talks about a group of Rebel spies stealing the
plans for the Death Star in their first major victory against the Empire.
We will be following the team that stole those plans and took part in that battle.
Also not appearing in this film are Bothans.
They were recognized for sacrificing their lives to learn about the second Death Star,
not the first.
That said we will be seeing some familiar faces.
Darth Vader is back.
Grand Moff Tarkin is probably back.
A couple of returning characters you might not be as familiar with are Mon Mothma and
Bail Organa.
They were members of the Imperial Senate that covertly started the Rebel Alliance.
Mon Mothma made a brief appearance in Return of the Jedi as well as a deleted scene in
Revenge of the Sith.
This will likely be her most substantial role to date, which is surprising considering she
is the leader of the Rebellion.
Also making his live action debut is Saw Gerrera.
Saw is a freedom fighter from the planet Onderon.
During the Clone Wars he fought against the droid army and lost his sister.
He now fights against the Empire and is known for using more extreme methods than Mon Mothma
would prefer.
He’s basically a terrorist.
He also has a history with the main character, Jyn Erso, but we’ll get to that in a second.
Jyn was the daughter of Galen and Lyra Erso.
During the Clone Wars her father was a renowned scientist known for his research in kyber
crystals.
Kyber crystals were strong in the Force, and known as living crystals to the Jedi Order,
who used them to power their lightsabers.
Galen’s research was involved in harnessing their power to provide sustainable energy
for developing worlds.
Unfortunately access to kyber crystals was incredibly limited thanks to the Jedi.
After the Clone Wars, Galen was approached by an old friend named Orson Krennic to continue
his energy research for the Empire.
With the Jedi gone, harvesting kyber crystals became a high priority for the Empire.
They took crystals from lightsabers and began mining worlds such as Jedha, where the crystals
grew naturally.
The various Jedi temples spread throughout the galaxy were also rumored to be decorated
with massive kyber crystals.
Those massive crystals were found to be highly volatile and dangerous, and they were the
main subject of Galen’s research.
Unbeknownst to him, Krennic was taking his research and attempting to weaponize it for
a superweapon known as the Death Star.
When Galen learned what his work was being used for, he and his family fled the Empire
with the help of Saw Gerrera.
Without his continued research, the development of the Death Star’s superlaser was stalled
indefinitely, and Krennic received a demotion.
That’s pretty much the state of the galaxy when we start Rogue One.
Jyn and her family are hiding on a remote planet called Lah’mu until they are finally
found by a likely very angry Krennic.
Most of the film will take place well after Galen’s capture and Jyn’s escape, following
her as she joins the Rebel Alliance and assembles a team to steal the plans to destroy the Death
Star, and probably attempt to save her father.
You should now have the essential knowledge you’ll need to see Rogue One.
Actually this is probably more than you need but you’ll at least have a more firm grasp
on the characters and their relationships if you haven’t been able to keep up with
every piece of Star Wars content.
If you have any more questions about Rogue One you’d like to see answered before the
films, leave those in the comments and I’ll do my best to keep you updated.
You can also check out my other Rogue One videos here!
If you haven’t already, please like and share this video to someone you think might
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consider checking out my Patreon page!
As always, thanks for watching and may the Force be with you!