While official details on the characters and narrative of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story remain fairly thin on the ground, the latest reports emerging about the anthology tale are shaping it up to be a special film.
We had news about a major role for Darth Vader and there have also been obvious hints to the inclusion of bounty hunter Boba Fett popping up at some point too. That adds to an extensive roster of new characters to contend with, which includes some fine actors with the likes of Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn – two of the finest character actors working today – making their debuts into the Star Wars universe.
Both Mendelsohn and Mikkelsen’s characters are unspecified, but the former has been mooted as a possible villain for Rogue One and a new report from MakingStarWars (who have regularly proven to possess some of the most accurate and reliable Star Wars insiders around) suggests that he might be every bit as deadly and sadistic as Vader himself. The website hasn’t heard anything official regarding Mendelsohn, but claims to have intel regarding who the Rebel fighters will be coming up against.
Rogue One centres on a small army of Rebel soldiers who plan to steal plans for the original Death Star, directly leading up it to A New Hope. While Vader may prove a formidable obstacle to the Rebels attaining the Death Star plans, MakingStarWars’ (via Squareeyed) report claims that an even more terrifying villain than the Sith Lord will also stand in their way.
The report details as follows: “There is a bad guy or person of some importance to the Empire. His main feature is a huge majestic white cape with a slit in the back. In the film there is a beautiful shot of this Imperial treading through a shallow body of water with said cape trailing him. The figure that wears it appears to be an older male. I’m told he has a badass sidearm and a really cool name. We’re fairly certain this is Ben Mendelshon’s character but that’s not 100% or verified at this time.
“Another shot shows him walking through legions of Stormtroopers and other Imperials. The shot was described as harkening back to the shots in Return of the Jedi where Darth Vader and the Emperor meet. Supposedly the cape looks really neat and is rather impressive.
“It isn’t Mads Mikkelsen by the sound of things. Mikkelsen wears earth tones in terms of his costume. There’s a shot of him in an impressive golden colored field. So by the sound of things, he isn’t the guy in the white cape unless he loses it later on in the film or something like that. But hey, we can at least place him in a setting now.”
What do you think about that? Are you excited to see who this villain is? If that’s not enough, head over here to read about a potential character with a robotic limb and watch the video below, which details Vader’s returning role in Rogue One. If these reports are true, Rogue One is shaping up to be a hugely tantalising prospect, with the pertinent question remaining; can they pull it off? we’ll find out on December 15, 2016.
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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