Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Teaser Trailer Breakdown

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Teaser Trailer Thoughts and Impressions
-Something very familiar but very new

-Yesterday evening, seemingly random, Disney released an 11-second teaser of Rogue One. This teaser came with the reveal that tomorrow (which is now today), a full teaser trailer would be released on Good Morning America, a popular morning talk show. Well, today with the release of the long-awaited teaser trailer , fans and critics alike have taken to the internet to give their thoughts and impressions. With that being said, it's only right that I take part in the discussion. Here's my trailer breakdown:

Right from the get go, we come to one of my favorite parts of this trailer: the music. After getting past that screen letting us viewers know that the trailer is appropriate for all audiences, a soft and faint music begins playing. Sure enough, the music playing is that Star Wars theme we're all so familiar with. Yes, the one that plays when Luke stares off into the dual sunset of Tatooine. Yes, the one masterfully remixed for the first full-length Episode 7 trailer. That one. It's a beautiful rendition and takes cues from Jurassic World. Like in Jurassic World, the theme is being played softly on a piano. Obviously, there's no link there; just a recognition of a smart musical decision. This rendition of John William's classic sets the tone for the trailer. You know right off the bat that this isn't going to be a fun time. It's eerie and alarming, soft but loud and clear. This movie will not be heroic and light. This movie will be dark and grim.

The shot presented here is Felicity Jones' character being led through a door, passing by that weird rebel armor first seen in beginning Episode 4.

Next, we see Felicity Jones' character turn around to look at the camera (us). It's hear that we hear her mutter her name: Jyn Erso. As the scene continues on, we hear a man naming off charges against Jyn. Forgery, stealing, assault and resisting arrest. Jyn is not a good citizen of the galactic universe. She's a lawbreaker, through and through. It's a refreshing change of pace as we're used to following a lead who seemingly can only do good. Jyn stands as the complete opposite of that. 

After walking through what appears to be a base on Yavin IV (first seen in Episode 4), Jyn is brought to a table opposite Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O'Reilly. It's important to note that while walking through this base hangar, we see a jungle outside and vines hanging over the garage door. If this is Yavin IV, then this base is actually an old temple. Anyway, as we arrive to the table with Jyn, Mothma declares Jyn "reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined." She continues on, stating that Jyn has been on her own since she was 15. Why? We don't know. Maybe she ran away from home or maybe her parents were killed. I'm sure we'll find out in December. 

The camera then shifts to our first look at Diego Luna's character. He's slyly listening in on Mothma and Jyn's meeting. He doesn't say anything and we aren't given a name but by the looks of it, his character is an experienced rebel with some form of authority.

Next up is something I completely missed in my viewings but credit to Jacob Hall of Slash Film for catching this. Behind Jyn is a tall and thin droid, clearly a droid that towers over any average human in height. As Hall pointed out, this could be Alan Tudyk's character. Rumors suggest that Tudyk is playing a character brought to life by motion capture that is a "reprogrammed, Imperial assault droid who towers over an average human." This might be a stretch but it is possible.

Following that scene, we get a taste of Jyn's capabilities. We learn that she is very capable at holding her own. She defeats with ease a group of Stormtroopers. It's quick and brutal. This is certainly new to us in that in previous Star Wars entries, we watch our female lead grow into the heroine she was destined to be. Here, Jyn has that part covered. She's kicking butts and taking names already.

After finishing off those Stormtroopers, we're brought back to Jyn's meeting with Mothma. Here, Jyn says something that's already taken off on social media: "This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel." Mothma yields a look that demonstrates this meeting isn't a session of reprimanding, but rather one of recruitment. If it wasn't obvious before, Jyn was brought to Mothma so Mothma could pitch her rebellious plans to Jyn.

Our next shot is the one that stands to serve as director Gareth Edwards' promise on Rogue One being a war movie. This shot here not only demonstrates the fear in Jyn but also the simultaneous determination she has for whatever mission she's on. It reminds me of war movie shots we've seen before (think soldier in a helicopter on his way to the battlefield). Sure, firefights and explosions sell us on the "war", but this shot is what really does it.

From here, we're brought to an all-too familiar image: A Starship Destroyer casually floating through space. This scene serves to establish the plot that we've all known about for some time now: Our heroes are on a mission to investigate the Imperial's newest weapon and return home safely with the plans of this weapon.

Soon after, we get this shot that sets the time period of this movie up for us. We've known it's a story that takes place before Episode 4 but by the looks of it, the Death Star has nearly reached completion in its construction, which places this story right before the events of Episode 4. Edwards uses the iconic symbol of destruction in the Star Wars universe to set the scale of this movie. The Death Star is an image of times past for us, but this shot serves to remind us that it's time to return. It looms over everything, eclipsing the mightiness of the Star Destroyers flying by. We know of its power which only raises the danger present in this film. Our heroes have no idea what they're getting into.

While we have no confirmation, this appears to be a character played by Alistair Petrie, who's appeared in Cloud Atlas and Rush among other movies. From the quick glimpse of him we get, we can gather that he's the hardened tough guy to Mothma's peaceful diplomat.

Here is your cliche hero shot featuring our heroes, or those who appear to be heroes aka Jyn and Luna's character, determinedly walking forward beside X-Wing pilots and soldiers, ready to take on a mission. Nothing too significant here but an exciting shot nonetheless.

Following that, we get our first look at Ben Mendelsohn's character, the main villain of the movie. We don't know his character's name or his title/ranking, but we do know that he's pretty high up. Star Wars lore dictates that those wearing white are of a higher ranking and those with a cape are even higher. We can only speculate for now but my guess is that this guy is the man in charge of the Death Star. Vader certainly answers to this guy when on board.

Sources and rumors alike indicate that Rogue One will come packed full of new weapons and Stormtroopers. While this shot has its standard Stormtroopers that we've seen before, a closer look reveals a new kind of Stormtrooper sitting atop the tank-like machine in the background. Not only does the vehicle appear to be something new, the Stormtrooper as well as his/her weapon are too.

The next shot is the money-shot (get out of the gutter...). Quite literally as it features the greatly awarded (Academy, etc.) Forest Whitaker. We have no idea who his character is in any way, shape, or form at all. Rumors suggest his character is a man who's been near destroyed by battle. Many have already suggested that he uses a cane to walk around and wears the armor he's in to remain alive (possible breathing tube of some sort on his neck?). Time will tell in the coming months.

The next shot is the one seen in yesterday's teaser for the teaser trailer. It's a black Stormtrooper (no confirmation as to what they're called yet...some think Shadow Trooper while others have dubbed it the Death Trooper) which is new to the movie universe of Star Wars. Whatever they are, they are certainly downright terrifying, imposing and definitely not somebody to mess with. They appear to be the worst of the worst. Running into them surely means death.

Up next, we have quite a revealing scene. First off, there appears to be a row of X-Wing pilots chained up together. X-Wing indicates the Rebellion so something tells me they've been captured by the Empire. This is a simple telling of the harshness that comes with this film. It's not a happy movie. These rebels are now prisoners of war with no guarantee of tomorrow. Secondly, as has been pointed by thousands online already, that Stormtrooper is wearing a black shoulder pad which, in Star Wars canon indicates an enlisted soldier (white=sergeant, orange=unit leaders). Finally, this scene indicates a setting of some kind of crowded market aka a scene where Edwards can show multiple types of aliens and species of the universe (ala Cantina ala Kanata's Castle).

Here, we have Jyn and Luna's character running through some kind of Imperial base corridor. More importantly, there's another shot of that mysterious droid that many believe Tudyk to be playing in this movie.

Quickly after, we're brought to this shot of Stormtroopers running through an Imperial base. It's important to note that this shot offers a glimpse at a new type of Stormtrooper. They're beige which is definitely new but as to why they're beige, we know nothing.

We have no idea who Donnie Yen is playing in this movie but we do know a bit more about his character than most. From the initial cast photo, we know his character is blind and utilizes a staff. He's definitely giving off the vibe that although he's blind, he can still kick some serious ass.

Following the debut of Yen's character, we get a quick montage of some big spaceship blowing up. It begins with another look at the black-armored Stormtroopers and our first glimpse at what appears to be a new planet. In the next shot, we see the ship actually exploding with a better look at the new planet. This planet appears to be tropical and beachy. I'm very excited for this as it's a setting we haven't seen before in Star Wars. Finally, the last shot is what appears to be a rebel soldier witnessing the ship exploding. His outfit is new and seems to be what ground soldiers wear.

We get another glimpse at Mendelsohn's villain character. With the sun setting, dead soldiers littered on the ground, and a ship glimmering with embers post-explosion, it appears his character is making an appearance after the battle. With that in mind, whatever goes down on this planet must be big. Why else would he leave the comfort of the Death Star to walk the ground of a tropical battlefield?

Here, we have one of the most interesting and conversation-starting scenes from the teaser trailer. There's those red figures, the Emperor's Royal Guard, which indicates that the cloaked figure menacingly walking forward might be Emperor Palpatine. It could be Vader (who's supposedly in this movie) but in my opinion, the outfit doesn't match that of Vader's. Any other possibilities?

Whitaker's character appears to be laying into Jyn. In some capacity, it reveals that his character has been through the ringer plenty of times; at least enough times that he feels he can scold Jyn on the possibilities of being caught, fighting the Empire, etc. 

Just like the majority of the cast, we get no name or dialogue from Jiang Wen's character but we do get a dope action scene that makes Wen look like a total badass. Rumors suggest he's a bounty hunter turned rebel fighter. His outfit follows that rumor but whether or not that's true, we won't find out for some time to come. 

Finally, this shot. We get another shot of that new tropical planet with some rebel soldiers racing along its' beaches, but more importantly, the freaking walkers. FOUR AT-AT's, yes FOUR! The rebels were always the underdogs but man, they are way way under this time around. To add to this, Edwards shoots the shot from ground up which gives the walkers an even more terrifying and menacing presence. If this trailer indicates anything, it's that Edwards totally understands what he's doing with this movie. 

The teaser trailer ends with this magnificent shot of Jyn clearly in an Imperial outfit. This is one of the shots that everyone is currently talking about. Here's my take: Okay, so with the announcement of Rogue One and the reveal that this movie will be about the crew that stole the Death Star plans, my mind immediately decided that "Rogue One" was the name of the squadron that completes the task. I still think this is true but I think the name of the title stands to have a double meaning. With Jyn in Imperial garb, it's reasonable to say that she infiltrates the Empire and then goes "rogue". She poses as an Imperial to gain understanding of the Death Star and then use that info to go "rogue" and let the rebellion know exactly what's going on in there. Jyn is essentially the "rogue one." Time will tell but I have a feeling that I'm right. 

Finally, we get our title reveal and the month that this movie will be released. Pretty standard stuff here but it makes for a cool wallpaper. 

-Welp folks, we did it. This was a frame-by-frame breakdown of the Rogue One teaser trailer. I, for one, am extremely stoked to see this story played out on the big screen, and if it's anything like this trailer, it seems that Edwards will knock it out of the park with this movie. 

Thanks for joining me readers!

Questions and Comments are always welcomed!