Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

"A rebellion built on hope."

- Tagline

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, simply known as Rogue One, is a 2016 film directed by Gareth Edwards and produced by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, amongst many others. The screenplay, written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, is based on a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. The film's score is composed by Michael Giacchino, marking the first live-action film in the Star Wars canon to not be scored by John Williams. It is the first film in the Star Wars Anthology Series.

Rogue One stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, and Alan Tudyk. Genevieve O'Reilly reprises her role as Mon Mothma, the leader of the Rebel Alliance; O'Reilly portrayed the character for 2005's Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, but her scenes were cut. The film also features Darth Vader.

The film, which began production in August 2015, is set between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. It is set closer to the latter film and focuses on the formation of the Rebel Alliance and their efforts to steal the plans to the Death Star, an event that was referenced in the opening crawl of A New Hope. Jyn Erso, played by Jones, and a group of other characters band together to steal the plans from the Galactic Empire. Edwards has described the film as a grounded, war-based movie, one in which normal people have to come together to fight the Empire as opposed to relying on the Jedi or the Force.

Official description
"'A New Hope' is the story of a boy who grows up in a tranquil home and dreams of joining a war. What if we have the story of a girl who grows up in a war and dreams of returning to the tranquillity of home?"

- Gareth Edwards

''From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. In theaters December 2016.''

Capture of Galen Erso
"The work has stalled. I need you to come back."

- Director Orson Callan Krennic

Approximately six years after the formation of the Galactic Empire, Imperial Director Orson Krennic and a squad of his death troopers land on the planet Lah'mu and forcibly recruit scientist Galen Erso to complete the work of the Death Star, a space station capable of destroying entire planets. Galen's wife, Lyra Erso, is killed when she shoots and injures Krennic to stop him from taking her husband. Their daughter, Jyn Erso, goes into hiding until Saw Gerrera, leader of the Partisans, rescues her and takes her in.

Jyn's imprisonment
Thirteen years later, an adult Jyn Erso, under the alias of Liana Halik, has been imprisoned in the Detention center on Wobani sharing a cell with Oolin Musters.

Mission to the Ring of Kafrene
"A planet killer! That's what he called it."

- Tivik to Cassian Andor

On the Ring of Kafrene trading outpost, the Rebel Intelligence officer Captain Cassian Andor meets with a contact, a man named Tivik, who reveals that an Imperial cargo pilot defected from the Galactic Empire the day before and is telling people that they are making a weapon with the Kyber crystals from Jedha. After persuasion from Andor, Tivik reveals that the weapon is a "planet killer" and that Rook is telling people that Galen Erso, an old friend of Saw Gerrera's, sent him.

An urgent message
"I need to speak to Saw Gerrera..."

- Bodhi Rook

Having defected, Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook seeks out Saw Gerrera, carrying an important message from Galen Erso concerning the Empire's construction of an ultimate weapon. Rook finds Gerrera's hideout on Jedha but Gerrera's Partisan soldiers, including Benthic, are distrustful of Rook's intentions and capture him. They bring him before Gerrera and though Bodhi pleads his case to the Partisan leader, Gerrera does not trust him either, fearing that he is being lured into a trap. To discover of Rook is being truthful or not, Gerrera subjects him to the torturous creature Bor Gullet, an experience which leads to a temporary loss of Bodhi's sanity.

Freeing Jyn Erso
"We're up against the clock here, girl, so if there's nothing to talk about, we'll just put you back where we found you."

- Davits Draven

Jyn is freed from Imperial captivity by Extraction Team Bravo and brought before Rebel leaders including Mon Mothma, Jan Dodonna, Bail Organa, Davits Draven, and Cassian Andor. They convince her to help get them an audience with Saw Gerrera, who Jyn has not seen since he abandoned her years prior. Though to Jyn the mission is presented as one of extraction, Draven covertly orders Cassian to kill Galen so as to prevent the weapon from being completed. Jyn, along with Cassian and his reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO set off for the moon Jedha in a Rebel U-wing.

When has become now
"When has become now, Director Krennic!"

- Governor Tarkin

On the bridge of the Executrix, Governor Tarkin monitors the Empire ultimate weapon, the Death Star's construction. As he looks on, the Mk I Superlaser is being installed. Director Orson Krennic comes aboard the Star Destroyer and approaches Tarkin on the bridge. Tarkin expresses his concern over the defected cargo pilot, who is spreading rumours on Jedha about the Death Star's existence. He tells Krennic that his time is up as far as completing the battle station goes, and that Emperor would not tolerate any more delays on the project. Suggesting that both problems should be solved together with a test of the weapon ultimate weapon, Tarkin makes it clear to Krennic that failure will not be tolerated.

Battle on Jedha
"This town is ready to blow."

- Cassian Jeron Andor

Cassian, Jyn and K2-SO arrive on arrive on Jedha where Cassian expects to meet up with a Partisan contact. K2 stays on the ship while Jyn and Cassian set out to find Andor's contact, but they are caught in the middle of an armed uprising against the Empire led by Gerrera's partisans. Jyn and Cassian find safety only after K2 disobeys orders to stay on the U-Wing and comes to their aid. After fighting off the Imperial troopers, the convoy returns to Tythoni Square where the uprising had taken place. Reinforcements have arrived and K2-SO is mistaken for an actual Imperial droid transporting prisoners. K2 tries to play along but the disguise is foiled and they are only saved by the intervention of blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe and mercenary Baze Malbus, guardians of the Kyber temple on Jedha that the Empire is stripping of its treasures. After the Imperial reinforcements are fought off, the group thinks they are in the clear until a group of Partisans, including Benthic, arrives and takes over the square, kidnapping Andor, Erso, and the two guardians with K2 having gone back to the ship. Benthic feels that Andor was hostile towards the Partisans during the uprising because he shot one of their own to create a distraction for him and Jyn to escape. Jyn reveals to the Partisans that she is the daughter of Galen Erso and the partisans take them to their headquarters in the Catacombs of Cadera and imprison them.

Galen's message
"The reactor module, that's the key. That's the place I've laid my trap."

- Galen Walton Erso

While Cassian, Chirrut, and Baze are locked in cells, Jyn is brought before Saw Gerrera. The calm captive Chirrut "prays" to the Force with his mantra "I am one with the Force and the Force is with me" while Baze mocks his partner's mystical ways. Cassian becomes impatient with Chirrut and begins to try and pick the cell lock himself. Saw Gerrera is surprised to see Jyn having parted ways with her years before. Gerrera is still wary that the pilot's message and Jyn's return is simply a trap but when Jyn explains her intentions of finding Galen he becomes more comfortable. He questions what Jyn wants to get out of this to which Jyn explains that she wants no part of it and that her role is finished. Refusing to believe that Jyn no longer cares about the Rebel cause, Gerrera offers to show her something that he feels will change her mind. Meanwhile, on the Death Star, Tarkin and Krennic prepare to test the weapon on Jedha City, having evacuated all Imperial forces from the moon via Protocol 13. With imminent danger approaching, unbeknownst to those on the moon, Cassian, Chirrut, and Baze linger in their cells. They notice that in the cell next to them is an Imperial pilot, Bodhi Rook, and Cassian begins to question him, curious if he is the cargo pilot that brought the message. Bor Gullet's effects on Bodhi are clear and he does not seem to understand what Cassian is talking about until he mentions Galen's name and Rook's memory is jogged. As the Death Star's superweapon commences primary ignition above the moon, Gerrera begins to show Jyn the message that Bodhi brought. The message is a hologram, in which Jyn's father expresses his love for her and discloses his coerced help on the Death Star project. Galen also reveals that he covertly compromised the Death Star's design by including a subtle vulnerability in its reactor that can be used to destroy it. He tells her that the structural plans are at an Imperial high-security data bank on the planet Scarif. However, before the hologram can finish, the Death Star fires on the moon and chaos ensues.

Destruction of Jedha City
"Save the Rebellion! Save the dream!"

- Saw Gerrera As the imminent destruction of Jedha City begins, the Partisans in the Catacombs begin to flee. Cassian quickly hot-wires the cell door and he, Chirrut and Baze escape captivity. Cassian hurries to the convoy's possessions that were seized when the Partisans kidnapped them and frantically uses his comlink to call K2 who describes the destruction ensuing outside. Cassian informs him to locate their position so they can escape. Before they can flee, Cassian goes to find Jyn, telling Chirrut and Baze to flee the pilot, which Baze does by blasting the cell door with his MWC-35c "Staccato Lightning" repeating cannon. Cassian locates Jyn and informs her that Bodhi has told him where her father is. Gerrera urges her to go with Cassian, but when Jyn suggests he comes with them he refuses, electing to remain there and die with the city. The mass exodus of the catacombs begins, and those who exit look on in horror as they see Jedha's surface beginning to peel back destroy everything in its path. As the Catacombs begin to collapse along with everything else, K2 pilots the U-Wing through the destruction to pick up the convoy. Cassian, Jyn, Chirrut, Baze, and Bodhi all hurriedly board the U-Wing and the ship begins its escape through the destruction. Gerrera watches from the collapsing Catacombs as the U-Wing blasts off and as the blast wave overtakes the Catacombs, he tears off his breath mask and accepts his fate. Jyn watches from the U-Wing as the wave consumes the Catacombs and kills Gerrera. The convoy looks on in horror at the destruction outside as K2 and Cassian pilot the U-Wing, fleeing the destruction that threatens to overtake them. Barely escaping the blast wave, Cassian quickly punches in the calculations and the U-Wing blasts into hyperspace, escaping Jedha. As the Death Star's demonstration is carried out, Krennic, Tarkin, and many Imperials look on with Krennic expressing the beauty of of the destruction. With the demonstration complete, Tarkin congratulates Krennic but promptly uses Rook's defection from Galen Erso's Imperial facility on Eadu and the security leak on Jedha under Krennic's command as a pretext to take control over the project. Enraged, Krennic openly challenges Tarkin's decision and decides to deal with the defector and the potential Rebel sympathizer on Eadu personally. In the aftermath of the incident on Jedha, Cassian sends a coded message back to the Alliance base informing them that Jedha has been destroyed and that he has learned that Galen is on Eadu. Receiving the message, General Draven is dumbfounded by the destruction of Jedha City but advises Andor to keep to the plan of killing Galen. Already in hyperspace, Cassian receives Draven's instructions and informs K2 to set their course for Eadu. The entire convoy is in shock concerning Jedha's destruction, and a troubled Chirrut begs Baze to describe the extent of the destruction which Baze reluctantly does. Knowing now that her father is on Eadu, Jyn explains to Bodhi, who thinks that his message was too late, that Galen has laid a trap in the Death Star. However, with the message being destroyed in the chaos on Jedha, she has no way of backing her claims and the group is wary to believe her. With Cassian refusing to send word of Jyn's claim to the Alliance, she resolves to get her father on Eadu and bring him back to the Alliance so that he can tell them himself.

Mission to Eadu
"The Force moves darkly near a creature that is about to kill."

- Chirrut Îmwe

With Tarkin having seized control of the Death Star project, Krennic departs the Death Star in his ST 149 shuttle en route for Eadu, where he plans to expose the Rebel sympathizer in Galen Erso's team. Meanwhile, the Rebel convoy, also seeking out Galen Erso on Eadu, approaches the planet in their U-Wing. The planet's stormy conditions hinder their approach, and as Bodhi guides them towards the Imperial installation, they crash whilst attempting to avoid Imperial detection.

Jyn tracks her father to an Imperial research facility on the planet Eadu, where Cassian chooses not to kill Galen. When Krennic arrives and threatens to have Galen's main team killed for causing the security leak, Galen confesses he is responsible. Krennic executes the team nevertheless, and Jyn makes her presence known just as a Rebel bombing raid begins, leaving Galen fatally wounded. Jyn allows her father to die in her arms before she and her group escape in a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle.

Krennic's groveling on Mustafar
"Be careful not to choke on your aspirations, Director."

- Darth Vader to Orson Krennic

With Galen Erso silenced, Krennic travels to Mustafar to speak with the mysterious Dark Lord, Darth Vader at his castle. Upon Krennic's arrival, the Dark Lord's servant, Vaneé alerts Vader, who is meditating in a rejuvenation chamber that the Director has arrived. Vader exits his meditation to confront Krennic on a platform overlooking the volcanic landscape of the planet. The Dark Lord expresses his concern that the Death Star has become more of a problem than the solution it was intended to be, citing Krennic's inability to keep the project a secret as a main catalyst for the change in approach. Krennic defends himself and his creation, claiming that he has delivered a remarkable weapon to the Emperor. Because of his self proclaimed success, he petitions that Vader grant him an opportunity to personally meet with the Emperor and advise him of the Death Star's unprecedented potential. Vader, however, is far more concerned about the rumors that had reached the higher levels of the Empire of the destruction of Jedha City and the attack on the Eadu facility by the Rebellion and what these revelations mean as far as the secrecy surrounding the Death Star project. Krennic attempts to shift blame onto Tarkin for ordering the demonstration on Jedha, but Vader is not impressed by this futile effort and criticizes Krennic's groveling, reminding the Director that the secrecy behind the Death Star project was instituted in order to prevent open defiance from the Senate. Vader suggests that the Jedha incident be disguised as a mining disaster, but seems to imply that Galen Erso's betrayal might have been a bitter blow to the Empire's secrecy. Vader instructs Krennic to ensure that no other leaks occur, so that the Emperor would be satisfied that the project had not been compromised. As Vader swiftly departs, Krennic makes a last plea for his continued control over the project, hoping to remain in command of the battle station rather than Tarkin. However, Vader's patience has run thin, and when Krennic requests that Vader speak to the Emperor on his behalf, the Dark Lord chokes the Director using the Force. As Krennic falls to his knees, Vader warns him to temper his ambitions lest they cause his downfall. He releases Krennic and ends the conversation.

Rebel council meeting
"Rebellions are built on hope."

- Jyn Erso

Having returned to the Rebel base on Yavin, Jyn is present at an Alliance High Command council meeting where she proposes a plan to steal the Death Star schematics from Scarif. The Rebel leadership, including Mon Mothma, Jan Dodonna, Bail Organa, Tynnra Pamlo, Nower Jebel, Vasp Vaspar, Davits Draven, Admiral Raddus, and Antoc Merrik cannot come to a decision, with many of the Senators proposing that they scatter their fleet because they have no choice but to surrender. Mothma, Organa, and Raddus attempt to defend Jyn's plan but with Galen and Gerrera dead and the Erso's hologram destroyed, the Rebel leadership has no way of verifying Jyn's claims. The fearful Pamlo, Vaspar, and Jebel's opposition outweighs the support despite Jyn's final pleading call for hope. Without the full support of the council, Mothma has to be the devil's advocate, declaring the odds too great to take immediate action.

Rogue One departs for Scarif
"Rogue One, pulling away."

- Bodhi Rook

Frustrated at their inaction, Jyn, Cassian, K-2SO, and a number of Rebels take the shuttle to raid the data bank themselves. Before they take off, however, they are confronted by Rebel command, who asks them to identify themselves. Rook answers with "Rogue One" before taking off without permission.

The Battle of Scarif
As Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO search the data bank for the design plans, the rest of their team set off explosives and commence firing in the nearby landing area in order to distract the resident stormtroopers. Meanwhile, the Rebel fleet learns about the battle from intercepted Imperial transmissions and deploys in support. Imwe is killed after activating the master switch to allow communication with the Rebel fleet from Rook's shuttle. After informing the Rebel fleet that it must take down the planetary shield to allow transmission of the plans, Rook and the ship are destroyed by a grenade. Malbus also dies in battle shortly after. Meanwhile, K-2SO sacrifices himself to allow Jyn and Cassian to retrieve the data, but they are ambushed by Krennic, who shoots Cassian and pursues and corners Jyn on the roof.

Before he can kill her, Cassian, who had survived the blaster wound, shoots and badly wounds Krennic. Jyn then transmits the schematics to the Rebel command ship. Tarkin arrives on the Death Star and decides to use the superlaser to destroy the compromised base, killing Jyn, Cassian, and Krennic. The Rebel fleet attempts to jump to hyperspace, but are intercepted by Vader's flagship. He boards the command ship and massacres the Rebel troops in pursuit of the plans, only to watch as a blockade runner escapes with them.

Secret mission to Tatooine
Aboard the fleeing ship, Princess Leia Organa declares that the the Rebellion has sent "hope".

Development
"I started thinking about which story would I like to see told? I informally pitched it around...One of the people I pitched it to was Pablo, and he was pretty enthusiastic about it as well...I made an appointment with Kathy and Kiri, pitched the 20-minute version of this, and got a pretty good response."

- John Knoll

John Knoll, a visual effects supervisor and the chief creative officer at ILM, began developing the idea for Rogue One in the mid-2000s, after learning that George Lucas was developing a Star Wars live-action TV series. However, Knoll put aside the idea once he realized that it would not fit within the show's concept. The series was eventually put on indefinite hold due to budget constraints, and Lucas decided to retire from filmmaking, hiring Kathleen Kennedy as the new head of Lucasfilm. According to Kennedy, Lucas was "really interested in exploring all the stories that existed inside the universe." (Lucas had long considered making films outside of the saga, dating back to development of the original Star Wars film. ) Lucasfilm settled on calling these non-episodic adventures the Star Wars Anthology Series. At the urging of his colleagues, Knoll pitched his idea to various people within Lucasfilm, including Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo, who was enthusiastic about the idea. This led to a meeting with Kennedy and Kiri Hart, a member of the Story Group and Lucasfilm's vice president of development. Kennedy, who said she was president "for about 20 minutes" when she had the discussion with Knoll, thought it was a great idea and that "there was no way" she could say no to the idea. Like Kennedy, Hart was "immediately excited about" the film. It was then chosen as the first stand-alone film to be produced, due to the involvement of plot elements that general audiences would be familiar with.

Gareth Edwards, who had directed Monsters and was directing Godzilla at the time, was hired to direct the film, early in the creative process. A previsualization reel based on the story was created using footage from many other films, such as WarGames and Aliens. Gary Whitta, who had written The Book of Eli and After Earth, was hired to write the film's screenplay. The team decided to create a film that felt real, as if it was taking place in a real location; and one that was set within the gray areas of Star Wars, as opposed to the clear morality of the original Star Wars trilogy. The look of the film was inspired by the work of artist Frederic Remington, as well as footage of real-life wars. Certain Star Wars traditions were also eschewed, such as an opening crawl (though one was included in Whitta's original script) or "wipe" scene transitions. The main characters did not die in the original script, due to the filmmakers' assumption that Disney would want to use the characters again. This was changed after everyone had reviewed the script. On March 12, 2015, it was announced that Chris Weitz would take over screenwriting duties from Whitta. It was further announced that the film would be titled Rogue One &mdash;a name coined by Whitta during the writing process &mdash;and that Felicity Jones, who had been nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in The Theory of Everything, had been cast in the film. Edwards used ILM's new developments in virtual reality to aid in pre-visualizing the film. The film began principal photography in London in August 2015. This was announced during the D23 Expo that same month. Additionally, a StarWars.com blog post revealed the full cast for the film: alongside Felicity Jones would be starring: Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, and Riz Ahmed. At least two of the cast underwent special training for their roles: Jones in a style of martial arts and Luna in military training. Members of the British Armed Forces were also hired as extras.

Simon Crane and Tony Gilroy were brought on to assist with reshoots,  for which the latter was paid over $5 million. Initial plans for reshoots had already been made upon the film's conception. According to Gareth Edwards, "it was always part of the plan to do reshoots. We always knew we were coming back somewhere to do stuff. We just didn't know what it would be until we started sculpting the film in the edit." In June 2016, it was announced that the film was to undergo reshoots. Almost immediately, numerous rumors surfaced online, with claims that over 40% of the film was to be re-shot, Scott Z. Burns and Christopher McQuarrie had written new drafts of the script (with the latter co-directing), and Disney executives had ordered the reshoots in an effort to "lighten" the film's tone. Numerous news articles have since disproven all such rumors. According to the EW, there were no test screenings on Rogue One, nor are any likely to occur on a Star Wars movie. The dark and gritty tone had been preserved, and the reshoots had dealt more with character development rather than the plotline. According to Kathleen Kennedy, "There's nothing about the story that's changing, with a few things that we're picking up in additional photography. I think that's the most important thing, to reassure fans that it's the movie we intended to make." Edwards attributed the lengthy reshoots to the spontaneous, cinéma vérité nature of the production.

The film's musical score was originally composed by Alexandre Desplat, although Michael Giacchino took over in post-production. ILM utilized unused footage from A New Hope to insert Rebel pilots from that film into Rogue One. Edwards had the idea after stumbling across a box of negatives while touring the Lucasfilm Archives.

Release
A brief teaser trailer was shown for Celebration Anaheim attendees, depicting the Death Star far off in the distance on a jungle world. Lucasfilm was not able to promote the film anywhere outside of Celebration Anaheim, however, during the summer of 2015, due to the similarities between the titles of Rogue One and the then-upcoming film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. The title of Rogue Nation was registered with the Motion Picture Association of America prior to Rogue One, leading to the embargo on Rogue One promotion. On April 7, 2016, a teaser trailer debuted during ABC's Good Morning America. A ten-second preview of the teaser had been released online the day before. On July 15, there was a Rogue One panel at Celebration Europe featuring Gareth Edwards and Kathleen Kennedy; During the panel, a featurette and a new trailer were released; The featurette aired that night during the ABC broadcast of Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey. A trailer aired during the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Beginning on September 20, TNT aired the first six Star Wars films. This was part of a deal in which Turner networks received exclusive rights to air eleven Star Wars films, including Rogue One in 2019. On October 12, it was revealed that a new trailer would be released the following day on October 13. ABC aired an additional preview of the film on November 24, as part of their "Magical Holiday Celebration." On December 2, Twitter hosted a livestream Q&A with Edwards and crew members; On the same day, members of the press were invited to Skywalker Ranch to view 28 minutes of footage from the film. Cast and crew made various media appearances, most prominently on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,  Good Morning America, Conan, Sirius XM and MTV News. The film had its Hollywood premiere on December 10.

Some of the cast and crew participated in UNICEF's Force for Change and Kid Power programs, creating Target-exclusive T-shirts, of which five dollars from each would contribute to the cause. Edwards also used the opportunity of making the film to promote the ASSERT charity. As with The Force Awakens, a terminally ill cancer patient&mdash;Neil Hanvey&mdash;was allowed to see the film early. Hanvey passed away two days after seeing the film.

Merchandising
The Rogue One merchandise line officially launched on September 30, 2016. A prequel comic miniseries of the film was set to be released in October and published by Marvel Comics, containing three issues and a one-shot, until it was revealed that the miniseries has been cancelled on May 17. Two of the movie's other related products were also cancelled before they were released: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Rebel Alliance Field Manual, which was cancelled when the publisher Media Lab Books lost the license, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: The Official Visual Story Guide. On November 15, Del Rey published a prequel novel to the film, entitled Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel. Dorling Kindersley released an art book and ultimate visual guide for the film on December 16, the same day as the release of the film itself. A short story titled "The Voice of the Empire" tying into the film was featured in Star Wars Insider 170. A Rogue One expansion was released for the video game Star Wars Battlefront. Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes hosted several exclusive events introducing characters from Rogue One.

In August 2016, Lucasfilm released a series of online images advertising Hasbro's Rogue One toy line, which debuted on September 30. The toys were also featured in Go Rogue, an officially sponsored, fan-created online video series that continued throughout September. The Black Series figure of Jyn Erso was released on October 15, 2016. By September 4, 2016, the figure had already skyrocketed to become the #1 Best Seller in Amazon's Action & Toy Figures category, based on hourly-updated figures. Verizon sponsored Rogue One: Recon, a 3D experience created by ILM Experience Lab. Nissan offered a Rogue One–themed Limited Edition of its 2017 Nissan Rogue. In October 2016, Rogue One–inspired commercials aired for Duracell, Nissan and Gilette products.

Home media
Rogue One became available on Digital HD on March 24, 2017, and on Blu-ray and DVD on April 4, 2017. The retail version contains bonuses exclusive to the store outlet where it was purchased. Target's 5-disc set includes collectible packaging with interchangeable character covers and exclusive bonus content (Blu-ray 3D + two Blu-ray + DVD + DVD exclusive content – 2 additional bonus features + Digital HD + collectible packaging), Best Buy has a 4-disc set with exclusive SteelBook packaging (Blu-ray 3D + two Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD + SteelBook packaging), and Wal-Mart sells a 3-disc set with exclusive K-2SO packaging and two Galactic Connexions trading discs (two Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD + K-2SO packaging + two Galactic Connexions trading discs). In addition to the film itself, the various home-media releases include various special content, including John Knoll's inspiration for the concept of the film, coverage of the cast regarding their respective characters, coverage of easter eggs hidden throughout the film, and behind-the-scenes looks at how Tarkin and Leia were given digital touchups.

Reception
In a December 2015 poll by Fandango, Rogue One was voted the most anticipated film of 2016. Early estimates predict a significant box office intake, though considerably less than The Force Awakens. Tickets went on sale on the midnight of November 28, followed by reports that Fandango had crashed due to high demand. The film had the second biggest day one pre-sales, following The Force Awakens.

During the lead up to release, which coincided with the aftermath of a Republican victory in the U.S. presidential election, writers Weitz and Witta were criticized for making political comparisons with the film, culminating in calls for a boycott from the alt-right.

As of the afternoon of Thursday, December 15, 2016, the film was listed as "Certified Fresh" at the movie review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Out of 208 reviews, 175 reviewers gave the film a score considered "Fresh," for an overall freshness level of 84% and an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's consensus stated that "Rogue One draws deep on Star Wars mythology while breaking new narrative and aesthetic ground -- and suggesting a bright blockbuster future for the franchise." While reception was on the whole greatly positive, acclaim for the film was not universal. Alyssa Rosenberg, a critic for the Washington Post, called the film "disappointing" and stated that Star Wars would need to get past the dynamic of the Rebellion vs. the Empire if it was going to work. Some reviewers also objected to the use of digitized versions of the characters of Wilhuff Tarkin and Leia Organa, such as Noah Berlatsky of Quartz questioning why "vast resources of film studios and creative personnel [are] being used to create a zombie version of something everyone has already seen?"

On January 22, 2017, the film surpassed the one billion dollar mark for global box office receipts. Regardless of how well the film performed, there were never plans for a sequel.

Continuity
"Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, 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."

- The opening crawl of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope

Rogue One is set between the films Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, during the Age of the Empire. The film revolves around a group of resistance fighters who unite to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's deep space mobile battle station that is capable of destroying entire planets. The theft of the plans was first referenced in the opening crawl of A New Hope, which described the event as the Rebel Alliance's "first victory against the evil Galactic Empire." The crawl further states that, "During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans" to the Death Star. The opening scenes of A New Hope deal with that battle's aftermath, with Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan fleeing from the Empire with the plans in order to deliver them to the Rebel Alliance. The Death Star is ultimately destroyed in A New Hope after the princess and her companions&mdash;Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO&mdash;deliver the plans to the Rebellion and a weakness in the station is discovered.

The title Rogue One refers to a callsign, but is also intended as a pun, as the film is the first canon live-action film that is not part of the saga and is therefore the "rogue" one. Unlike the previous live-action films, Rogue One does not revolve around the Jedi. Rather, the film is about a group of people who do not have the ability to use the Force and have to find a way to bring hope to a galaxy ruled by the Empire. Also unlike the original trilogy, which provided a black and white view of good and evil, Edwards stated at Celebration Anaheim that Rogue One "is gray" and that the film could be described as "Real...This is a real place that we're really in..." Finally, unlike all other Star Wars shows and movies (including Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels) it does not feature the traditional Star Wars opening crawl, further asserting itself as the "rogue one."

Credits
{{Credits
 * cast=
 * Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso
 * Diego Luna as Captain Cassian Andor
 * Alan Tudyk as K-2SO
 * Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe
 * Jiang Wen as Baze Malbus
 * Ben Mendelsohn as Director Orson Krennic
 * Guy Henry as Governor Tarkin
 * Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera
 * Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook
 * Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso
 * Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa
 * Alistair Petrie as General Draven
 * Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma
 * Ben Daniels as General Merrick
 * Paul Kasey as Admiral Raddus
 * Stephen Stanton as the voice of Admiral Raddus
 * Ian McElhinney as General Dodonna
 * Fares Fares as Senator Vaspar
 * Jonathan Aris as Senator Jebel
 * Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Senator Pamlo
 * Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous as Darth Vader
 * James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader
 * Ingvild Deila as Princess Leia
 * Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
 * Valene Kane as Lyra Erso
 * Beau Gadsdon as Young Jyn
 * Dolly Gadsdon as Younger Jyn
 * Duncan Pow as Sergeant Melshi
 * Jordan Stephens as Corporal Tonc
 * Babou Ceesay as Lieutenant Sefla
 * Aidan Cook as "Two Tubes"
 * Daniel Mays as Tivik
 * Andy de la Tour as General Hurst Romodi
 * Tony Pitts as Captain Pterro
 * Martin Gordon as Vaneé
 * Eric MacLennan as Rebel Technician #1
 * Robin Pearce as Rebel Technician #2
 * Francis Magee as Grizzly Rebel
 * Bronson Webb as Rebel MP
 * Tim Beckmann as Captain Antilles
 * Geraldine James as Blue Three
 * Ariyon Bakare as Blue Four
 * Simon Farnaby as Blue Five
 * Drewe Henley as Red Leader
 * Angus MacInnes as Gold Leader
 * Gabby Wong as Gold Nine
 * Richard Glover as Red Twelve
 * Toby Hefferman as Blue Eight
 * Richard Cunningham as General Ramda
 * Jack Roth as Lieutenant Adema
 * Michael Gould as Admiral Gorin
 * Rufus Wright as Lieutenant Casido
 * Michael Shaeffer as General Corssin
 * Geoff Bell as 2nd Lieutenant Frobb
 * James Harkness as Private Basteren
 * Derek Arnold as Pao
 * Matt Rippy as Corporal Rostok
 * Nick Kellington as Bistan
 * Michael Nardone as Shield Gate Officer
 * Nathan Plant as Droid
 * Christopher Patrick Nolan as Alderaanian Guard
 * Michael Smiley as '''Dr. Evazan
 * Warwick Davis as Weeteef Cyu-Bee
 * Dee Tails as L-1
 * Ruth Bell as Jedha Server #1
 * May Bell as Jedha Server #2
 * Angus Wright as Hammerhead Captain
 * Keith Dunphy as Blockade Runner Pilot
 * Alan Rushton as Engineer #1
 * Robert Benedetti-Hall as Engineer #2
 * Richard Franklin as Engineer #3
 * Weston Gavin as Engineer #4
 * Nick Hobbs as Unidentified engineer #5

Uncredited

 * Charlie Akin as Marine Soldier
 * Russell Balogh as Ralo Surrel
 * Benjamín Benítez as Rebel Pilot #1
 * Ram Bergman as an Death Star technician #2
 * Arthur L. Bernstein as Stormtrooper
 * Victor Botha as Death Trooper
 * Aidan Callanan as Villager
 * David Childs as Rebel Marine
 * Bern Collaco as Landing Crew and Stormtrooper
 * Angus Cook as Unidentified mechanic
 * Matthew Dale as the High Priest
 * Zarene Dallas as Zal Dinnes
 * Prince Dave as '''Jedha Citizen
 * Nick Davison as Imperial Officer #1 and Crew Member
 * Jamie Delf as Imperial Guard
 * Ned Dennehy as Prisoner
 * Gareth Edwards as Rebel Soldier
 * Daniel Eghan as Militan
 * Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia (archive sound)
 * Jake Francis as Rebel Marine
 * Scott Frazer as Technician
 * Luke Hampton as Stormtrooper
 * Sam Hanover as Imperial Officer 
 * Benjamin Hartley as Harb Binli
 * James Henri-Thomas as Rebel Officer
 * J. David Hinze as Imperial Commander
 * Luke Hope as Artigent
 * Dolly Jagdeo as Engineer
 * Jackson James as Desert Man
 * Duncan Jebbett as Technician
 * Rian Johnson as Death Star Technician #1
 * Attila G. Kerekes as Unidentified Rebel marine
 * Gary Kiely as Imperial Officer #3, Imperial Technician, and TIE Pilot
 * Kenny Lee as Dark Priest and Market Trader
 * Kamil Lemieszewski as Rebellion Drug Dealer and Rebellion Pilot
 * Tyrone Love as Lead Marine
 * Jean-Paul Maurice as Mechanic
 * Chris Merchant as Captured Rebel Pilot
 * Shina Shihoko Nagai as Huika Siliu
 * Emeson Nwolie as Partisan
 * Hugh O'Brien as Imperial Officer #4
 * Jem Kai Olsen as Jedha Resident
 * Eunice Olumide as Rebellion Insurgent Head
 * Mac Pietowski as Comm Tech Soldier #1
 * Harry Pike as Jedha server #3
 * Andrei Satalov as Imperial Officer #5
 * Paul Sharky as '''Dr. Evazan
 * Gerard Smith as Jedha Insurgency Warrior
 * Tim Stafford as Stormtrooper
 * Matthew Stirling as Private Calfor
 * Morgan Strebler as Stormtrooper
 * Albert Tang as Angber Trel
 * Vince Taylor as X-Wing Pilot #1
 * Johnny Topping as Extra
 * Tony Toste as Imperial Officer #6
 * Sezer Unver as Comm Tech soldier #2
 * Sem van der Vegte as Humanoid
 * Jimmy Vee as R2-D2
 * Nick Walters as Stormtrooper
 * David Whitehall as Extra
 * Gary Whitta as TBA
 * Ian Whyte as Moroff
 * Paul Weston as Feyn Vann
 * Sam Wilkinson as X-Wing Pilot #3
 * Boriana Williams as Female
 * Dion Williams as Wion Dillems
 * Hiu Woong-Sin as Adjutant to General Draven
 * Steen Young as Vault officer
 * Andrew Zographos as X-Wing Pilot #2

}}
 * crew=
 * Gareth Edwards&mdash;Director
 * Chris Weitz&mdash;Writer
 * Tony Gilroy&mdash;Writer; Second Unit Director
 * Gary Whitta&mdash;Story
 * Allison Shearmur&mdash;Executive Producer
 * John Knoll&mdash;Story, Executive Producer
 * Simon Emanuel&mdash;Executive Producer
 * Jason McGatlin&mdash;Executive Producer
 * Kathleen Kennedy&mdash;Producer
 * Tony To&mdash;Producer
 * Kiri Hart&mdash;Co-Producer
 * John Swartz&mdash;Co-Producer
 * Michael Giacchino&mdash;Composer
 * Greig Fraser&mdash;Director of Photography
 * Neil Corbould&mdash;Special Effects Supervisor
 * Jina Jay&mdash;Casting Director
 * Chris Scarabosio&mdash;Sound Designer
 * Neil Lamont and Doug Chiang&mdash;Co-Production Designers
 * Rob Inch&mdash;Stunt Coordinator
 * Neal Scanlan&mdash;Creature Effects Supervisor
 * Dave Crossman and Glyn Dillon&mdash;Co-Costume Designers