When Disney shocked the world by purchasing LucasFilm back in October 2012, that announcement came with news that the studio is developing a newStar Wars movie, but we soon came to learn it would be much more than just one movie.Star Wars 7became a full trilogy, with three spin-offs hitting theaters in the years between each trilogy installment, not to mention an abundant wealth of canonized stories told through new novels, comic books and much more. The anticipation forStar Wars: The Force Awakenswas simply off the charts, and while the movie still won over legions of fans and set box office records left and right, there were some fans who made it clear that the movie just didn’t sit right with them. Hell, the movie’s oft-discussed similarities with the 1977 classic that started this whole franchise,A New Hope, was even at the center of the entire 20th Season of Comedy Central’sSouth Park.
While there was certainly no shortage of buzz and hype forRogue One, it wasn’t nearly on the same level asThe Force Awakens, which ultimately isn’t terribly surprising. Fans had been waiting for 32 years to see what their favorite characters like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) had been up to in this galaxy far, far away, but there isn’t nearly the same familiarity with theRogue Onecharacters. However, after the world premiere in Hollywood last weekend, theearly reactionswere quite incredible, withWil Wheatoneven going so far as to say the last time he loved a movie so much was in 1977, the yearA New Hopewas released. Other famous fans such asRainn WilsonandChris Hardwickwere simply gushing over the movie as well, leading many to wonder ifRogue Oneis in fact better thanThe Force Awakens? According to many fans, including yours truly, it is.
Star Wars: The Force Awakenswent on to set new box office records for domestic opening weekend ($247.9 million), worldwide opening weekend ($528.9 million), all-time domestic gross ($936.6 million), biggest single day ($119.1 million), biggest Thursday night preview gross ($57 million) and becoming the fastest movie to eclipse box office milestones between $100 million and $500 million. No one was expectingRogue Oneto put up these kinds of numbers, but just because it’s set within theStar Warsuniverse, it wasn’t expected to tank either. Early box office projections peggedRogue Oneto bring in $130 million domestic in itsopening weekend, while a more recent projection claimed it should hit $350 million worldwide. The spin-off fared well in Thursday preview screenings, taking in $30 million, nearly half ofThe Force Awakens' $57 million record, but as the buzz kept growing and growing, many believed thatRogue Onewas actually the movie fans had been waiting more than 30 years for, notThe Force Awakens.
As you likely know by now,Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis set in the gap betweenRevenge of the SithandA New Hope, following an group of unlikely heroes who band together on a mission to steal the plans to theDeath 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. This beloved spin-off brings back the iconic villain Darth Vader and Mon Mothma, along with one surprising character that I will not spoil… not yet, anyway. This should go without saying, but if you haven’t seenRogue Oneyet, there will be SPOILERS contained below, so read on at your own risk.
With all of that in mind, we decided to break down the specific moments, themes and ideas present inRogue One: A Star Wars Storythat are just simply better than whatStar Wars: The Force Awakenshad to offer. These could be anything from the story lines to the music or the characters we get to meet. We’ll also delve into the future of this franchise itself, and how this one story, which has nothing to do with the Luke Skywalker saga that has been told over the past seven films, could set the tone for every otherStar Warsmovie afterStar Wars: Episode IX. We kick things off with what some thought was the biggest flaw ofThe Force Awakens.
10A Brand New Story That Sparks a Sense of Discovery
Yeah,The Force Awakensis, for all intents and purposes, a “new story,” but is it really?J.J. Abramsattempted to give fans the best of both worlds, introducing new heroes likeDaisy Ridley’s Rey (a.k.a. the female Luke Skywalker) andOscar Isaac’s hot-shot pilotPoe Dameron(a.k.a. a Wookie-less Han Solo), while bringing back Han (Harrison Ford), Leia (Carrie Fisher) and (briefly) Luke (Mark Hamill). Many die-hard fans noticed all of these similarities right away, and while it certainly didn’t have an adverse affect on the box office, it raised doubts about the direction of this franchise, and whether or not this new trilogy would just be a straight-up retread of the original trilogy we have come to know and love.
You’ll likely hear no such complaints about this firstStar Wars spin-offbecause, despite a few familiar characters, this story is brand spanking new. We’re meeting (almost) all of these characters for the very first time, and directorGareth Edwardsand writersChris Weitz,Tony Gilroy,Gary WhittaandJohn Knollfound a way to tap into that sense of wonder that flowed throughA New Hope, like The Force flows through a Jedi warrior. IfStar Wars 8andStar Wars 9are going to be retreads of the original trilogy, which has been rumored and suspected, the filmmakers would be well served to take as many notes as they can while watchingRogue One, to see if they can find a way to bring back a sense of discovery to the franchise, instead of re-hashing the stories we all love.
9K-2SO Crushes BB-8 In Every Possible Way
I’ll admit that I was just as blown away as everyone else when we found out that BB-8 was an actual practical thing, brought to life by the company Sphero, whenJ.J. Abramsbrought him out onto the stage duringStar WarsCelebration. I loved BB-8 inThe Force Awakenstoo, as he was clearly the lovable R2-D2 type of droid for this new generation of heroes. I really enjoyed everything BB-8 had to offer inThe Force Awakens, but it wasn’t until I sawRogue Onethat I realized a talking droid likeK-2SO, played brilliantly byAlan Tudyk, is yet another thing thatThe Force Awakenswas missing. In the original trilogy, there were numerous scenes where either R2-D2 and C-3PO were apart, and/or interacting with other human characters on their own, but it was their scenes together that are the most memorable. While BB-8 could do well to have a robotic companion,Rogue One’s K-2SO doesn’t need one. I also enjoyed how they made him a much bigger droid that can definitely hold his own in any situation, and not the frail and, frankly, whiny, type of droid that C-3PO was. The writers found a way to combine the wit of C-3PO with a bigger, more practical droid that can do some of the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively, if need be.
8Welcome Back Grand Moff Tarkin, Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and Darth Vader
Out of all four of these characters, they maybe have a combined screen time presence of five minutes or so, maybe… but it was good to have them back. TheGrand Moff Tarkinscene may prove to be somewhat controversial, since he is a completely digital character.Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin inA New Hope, passed away in 1994, so the filmmakers brought inGuy Henryto stand in as Tarkin on the set, withStephen Stantonproviding the voice.Genevieve O’Reillyreprised her role fromRevenge of the Sithas Mon Mothma, withJimmy Smitsalso returning from the prequel trilogy as Bail Organa, whileJames Earl Jonesreturned to provide the voice for Darth Vader, whileSpencer WildingandDaniel Naprousportrayed the villain on the set, in that amazing fight sequence that is among the highlights of the film. What was great about all of these characters coming back is that their returns were all in service of the story, not shoehorn beloved characters in, like C-3PO and R2-D2’s small but contrived roles inThe Force Awakens.
7Opening Prologue > Opening Crawl
One of the few thingsRogue Onedid have in common was that LucasFilm released as few story details as possible in the lead-up to the December 16 release. Earlier this year, LucasFilm presidentKathleen Kennedymade quite the surprising admission, when she revealed thatRogue Onemay not have anopening crawl, with LucasFilm’sPablo Hidalgorevealing earlier this week that there was never an opening crawl in the script. Instead, directorGareth Edwardsopted for a prologue, that is set 15 years before the events of this story, featuring a young Jyn Erso and her father Galen, that sheds so much more light on the story than an opening crawl ever could. Yes, I love the crawl just as much as the next guy or gal, but I like that they wanted to make a conscious effort to set this apart from theStar Warssaga films, and the most obvious way to do so is to omit the crawl. They are only words, after all, albeit words scrolling in a fashion that has become iconic, and I’m glad that the director chose to go with a prologue instead.
6Michael Giacchino Is a Worthy Successor to John Williams
Aside from the lack of an opening crawl, another historical aspect ofRogue Oneis it’s the first everStar Wars moviethat doesn’t feature aJohn Williamsscore. Taking the iconic composer’s place isMichael Giacchino, who is certainly no slouch himself, having won an Oscar for hisUpscore, along with an Emmy for his work on ABC’sLost. There were no elements of his score that felt pilfered fromJohn Williams' work, but at the same time, it very much had a distinctStar Warsfeel to the music. The gorgeous score felt like something we may have heard 30 years ago, because it most certainly hadStar WarsDNA stamped all over it with a new yet familiar feel that hit all the right notes, literally and figuratively.John Williamshas been confirmed to provide the score forStar Wars: Episode VIII, slated to hit theaters on July 30, 2025, but, if for nothing else,Michael Giacchino’s amazing work onRogue Onemakes it clear thatMichael Giacchinomay just well be the heir apparent, so to speak, to the iconicJohn Williams.
5No Lightsaber Duel, No Problems
Even though it was probably one of the most bad-ass scenes in the whole movie,Darth Vader’s display of his unparalleled lightsaber skills doesn’t qualify as a lightsaber duel, since he’s the only one with a lightsaber. Still,Rogue Oneseparates itself from theStar Warspack by being the onlyStar Warsmovie that doesn’t feature a lightsaber duel, which naturally makes sense since it takes place years after Executive Order 66 inRevenge of the Sithessentially wiped out the Jedi order. Much like the discarding of the opening crawl, the filmmakers rolled the dice by excluding these duels, one of the franchise’s beloved staples, and it still works because the story is so engrossing. It’s most certainly a gutsy move, considering some of the franchise’s most cherished moments are tied to these duels, but the fact that the movie works so well without this battles is a testament to how strong the storytelling truly is here.
4Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus: The Human R2-D2 and C-3PO
OneStar Warstrope that wasn’t ignored or avoided inRogue Onewas the use of a memorable droid, with the debut ofAlan Tudyk’s K-2SO, a droid that actually towered over his human companions, although he could still come through and provide a laugh or two in the right situations. Since this droid wasn’t paired with another to work off of, it seems that the same sense of back-and-forth witty repartee of R2-D2 and C-3PO was imbued into the human charactersChirrut Imwe(Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang). While there are obvious differences between Chirrut and Baze and Threepio and Artoo, the fact that they are both complete opposites of one another is nearly identical. Chirrut himself is a fascinating character we haven’t seen before, someone who does not actually possess any powers with The Force, but believes wholeheartedly in its existence. It’s certainly an interesting approach to take with a character who, perhaps under a different writer or director, could have easily faded into obscurity, but has instantly become a fan favorite.
3Gareth Edwards' Team Outdoes J.J. Abrams' Team
Full disclosure: I hatedMonsters, the 2010 indie thriller that served asGareth Edwards' feature directorial debut, and I was definitely in the minority in that one. Ever those who raved aboutMonsterswere surprised that he was tapped to direct Warner Bros.‘Godzilla, transitioning from micro-budget filmmaker to tentpole director overnight. With this just his third feature film, I almost don’t want to know how muchGareth Edwardscan improve off of what he accomplished, because his work on this movie is simply awe-inspiring. Instead of re-hashing a familiar story,Gareth Edwardsand writersGary Whitta,Chris Weitz,Tony GilroyandJohn Knollfind a way to re-create the awe-inspiring splendor of the originalStar Warssaga with new characters in an uncharted area of theStar Warstimeline. We heard several times thatRogue Onewould be a war film, and it definitely didn’t disappoint on this front either, with several battle scenes that were directed in impeccable fashion byGareth Edwards, and after this film, I truly can’t wait to see what he does next.
2Han Solo Rumor Was Thankfully Proven False
This may not exactly “fit” within the scope of this list, since the exclusion of Han Solo inRogue Oneisn’t something that makes it “better” thanThe Force Awakens. Still, I felt the need to address this, since there were rumors that the casting ofAlden EhrenreichasHan Soloin April, more than two years before the Han Solo spin-off hits theaters, was finalized so early because he was making some sort of appearance inRogue One, but that didn’t happen, and I’m truly glad it didn’t. For one, I don’t know how they could have organically found a place for Han Solo within this story, at least not with what we know about Solo thus far. The spin-off, directed byPhil LordandChris Milleris said to be set 10 years before he walked into the Mos Eisley Cantina inA New Hope, giving this beloved smuggler a proper origin story. It would make no sense to simply bring him in for a cameo, unless he had some sort of connection to a character inRogue One, which, at this point in the timeline, he doesn’t. Yes, it would have made a great little Easter Egg, if done right, and it was never confirmed that this was something LucasFilm was actually planning on doing. Either way, I’m glad we didn’t get a sneak peek at a young Han Solo until his own spin-off.
1Rogue One Sets The Stage For a Franchise Dominated By Spin-Offs
At some point after Disney bought LucasFilm in 2012, it was confirmed that the mainStar Warssaga will continue with a new trilogy, while three additional spin-off movies will debut in the years between the saga sequels. After another report teased that Disney plans on releasing one newStar Warsmovie a year, indefinitely, most assumed that the studio would stick to this current formula, with a saga film one year, and a new spin-off the next, but it seems that may not be the case. LucasFilm presidentKathleen Kennedyteased in an interview that they could do “nothing but stand-alones,” from here on out, but that approach hasn’t been set in stone at this time. If you ask me, I think this approach may be for the best, because it would be a shame for the Luke Skywalker saga to keep dragging out every other year for the unforseeable future. An argument can be made that theStar Warssaga is the most beloved and popular story of all time, but even as popular as that story is, it still needs an ending.George Lucashad talked about a final trilogy years before the LucasFilm sale happened, and I for one had wondered if I would ever live to see the day whenStar Wars: Episode IXwas released. In just three years, I’ll get to see it on the big screen, which I hope will be the end of this particular story that has spanned nine films and inspired multiple generations, but not the end of the multitude of other stories still left to be told in this galaxy far, far away.
