The waiting is nearly over.
The final trailer for the highly-anticipated “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was released Thursday, and it’s given fans a lot to talk about.
The film has been cloaked in secrecy ever since it was announced – much like “Star Wars Episode VII: Force Awakens” was – but the trailer gives a relatively full accounting of the plot.
The trailer opens with a flashback in which Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) remembers her father, played by Mads Mikkelsen, telling her, “Whatever I do, I do it to protect you.”
It flashes forward to Jyn as an adult being recruited by the rebel alliance, and Diego Luna’s character, Captain Cassian Andor, who questions her about her father’s whereabouts.
“When was the last time you were in contact with your father?” he asks.
"It appears he is critical to the development of a super weapon," says rebel leader Mon Motha (Genevieve O'Reilly).
The "super weapon" is the infamous Death Star from the "Star Wars" movie that began the billion-dollar franchise, 1977's "A New Hope."
“If my father built this thing, we need to find him,” Jyn tells her fellow rebels.
Unlike “The Force Awakens,” “Rogue One” is a standalone film set in the same universe that links the two film trilogies.
“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,” Lucasfilm says in the movie’s official synopsis. “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.”
The film’s first trailer debuted in April to much fanfare.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” directed by Gareth Edwards, hits theaters Dec. 16.
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.