During “Good Morning America” on ABC Thursday, Disney gave fans their a first look at “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
“Rogue One,” set before the events of the original “Star Wars” film, follows a ragtag band of outlaws who hatch a plan to steal the plans to the Death Star.
The 100-second trailer focuses on Felicity Jones as a soldier named Jyn Erso who’s commissioned by the Rebel Alliance to investigate the Empire’s new superweapon and help figure out how to take it out.
Rebel leader Mon Mothma, previously only seen in “Return of the Jedi,” makes an appearance to dress down Erso, calling her “reckeless, aggressive and undisciplined.”
“This is a rebellion, isn’t it?” Erso replies. “I rebel.”
The trailer also shows off Ben Mendelsohn as an Imperial admiral donning a white uniform, and “Ip Man” star Donnie Yan fighting a stormtrooper with a blade.
We also get a better look than we’ve ever at the Rebel base on Yavin IV, the moon from which Luke Skywalker and his starfighter pals launched the mission to destroy the original Death Star in “Star Wars: A New Hope.” The trailer teases a battle with Imperial walkers in a jungle environment, though it’s unlikely that bit is also the Yavin moon.
On Dec. 16, “Rogue One” will kick off the anthology series that will run every other year. Next up will be the young Han Solo movie from “Lego Movie” directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller in 2018.
The new trilogy of numbered episodes that began in 2015 with “The Force Awakens” will continue with the still-untitled “Episode VIII,” directed by Rian Johnson, hitting theaters in December 2017. The Colin Trevorrow-directed “Episode IX” will land in 2019.
With the home video release of “The Force Awakens” out of the way this week, Disney and Lucasfilm will begin their marketing bonanza for “Rogue One” in full.
“Rogue One” is directed by Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla,” “Monsters”) and stars Jones, Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna and Forest Whitaker.
Watch the video above.