With Rogue One: A Star Wars story having just been released, here’s an explainer on where Rogue One fits in the Star Wars world.
EPISODE I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
The story begins when a young boy named Anakin Skywalker is discovered by two Jedi. His unusual powers of The Force give him the potential to be one of the greatest Jedi ever.
EPISODE II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
Anakin grows up to be a strong Jedi, secretly marrying Queen Padmé Amidala. Though a heroic knight, Anakin is slowly corrupted by the Dark Side of the Force.
EPISODE III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Anakin finally becomes Darth Vader one of the most iconic movie villains of all time. His wife is dead and his children, twins, are hidden away from him. The movie closes with a glimpse of the Death Star’s construction underway.
EPISODE IV – A New Hope (1977)
In this film, the plans for the Death Star were stored in loveable droid R2D2 which were eventually recovered and used by the Rebels. The killing shot, delivered by Luke Skywalker, destroyed the super-weapon.
EPISODE V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) & VI Return of the Jedi (1983)
The Empire started work on Death Star 2 for Return of the Jedi which was also destroyed by the rebels. This eventually led to the redemption of Darth Vader and the death of the Emperor. However, the threat is not over yet …
EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)
The latest Star Wars features the comeback of a new type of Death Star called the Starkiller Base. It’s capable of obliterating entire Solar Systems, however has been destroyed by Rey and her team.
The Death Star
Darth Vader unveils and uses his super-weapon the Death Star. It’s a large space station – a weapon previously thought indestructible – capable of destroying entire planets.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
The fourth Star Wars film A New Hope ’s signature opening crawl reveals that “Rebel Spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet”. This is where Rogue One comes in. Rather than a movie to bridge the gap between Episode 3 and 4, Rogue One is a standalone installment that tells the story behind one of the biggest Star Wars game changer. It chronicles how the plans of the Empire’s super-weapon got into the hands of the Rebellion: from being hidden by Princess Leia on R2D2 to Luke Skywalker blowing up the reactor and marking a huge victory for the Rebels.
For years, there has been a story in circulation on how the Death Star plans came into the hands of the Rebels before Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope . That was scrapped in the new Star Wars canon after Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars Universe. Rogue One sets that record straight in classic blockbuster fashion.
The Crew
Rogue One is led by Jyn Erso, a former criminal who is recruited for this suicide mission, played by Felicity Jones. Along with her is a rag-tag group of operatives, which includes K-2SO, a killer droid (Alan Tudyk); Captain Cassian Andor a Rebel Intelligence Officer (Diego Luna); Chirrut Îmwe, a blind warrior monk (Donnie Yen) and Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) a Rebel extremist from The Clone Wars animated series.
