Rogue One (2016) [SW Anthology Series)

[Set Harth]

As for the Bothans, we only have the old EU's interpretation of that line to mean the Bothans were responsible for retrieving the plans. It could just as easily mean that they suffered the consequences of the mission. Like for example, the plans were stored on Bothawui and the Empire undertook a scorched earth policy to prevent the Rebels escaping. Or as punishment after the fact. Or the Bothans could have staged some massive offensive as a distraction while the Rebels got what they needed.

MON MOTHMA: The data brought to us by the Bothan spies pinpoints the exact location of the Emperor’s new battle station.

This seems straightforward enough. We can always find other ways to rationalize it but the EU interpretation isn't really off the reservation on this one.

 

[Reverend]

For some reason I forgot that line. I only remembered the "many Bothans died" line. Must be getting old.

Nevertheless, there's a number of ways you can interpret that. The EU interpretation always seemed a bit flat, dramatically speaking. Again, memory is a bit vague but I think I recall the ones that died were a bunch of passengers on a transport that got caught up in the raid in deep space? It made the whole thing feel rather cold and remote. I'd much rather something more dramatic and deliberately brutal like a city being bombarded from orbit or something.

 

[JD]

Hasn't Disney canon already covered the discovery and selection of Hoth?

I wasn't aware they'd done stories between ANH and ESB.

I don't think finding Hoth would be a particularly interesting premise, or even a twist ending. There was nothing particularly special about it and the Rebels clearly weren't there very long. Indeed, one gets the impression they'd only just started to settle in. They were still working on adapting the speeders to the cold, perimeter sensors were still being placed and they discussed the complications of meteor activity as if it's a relatively new problem, not something they've been coping with for some time.

They've been probably hopping from one planet to the next ever since Atollon. Never staying anywhere long, always looking to move on before the Imperial fleet finds them. Remember that Dantooine was already abandoned in ANH before the Empire ever knew they were there. They didn't wait around for them to be discovered before moving on.

I didn't really mean for it to be the whole premise or even a twist ending. I was just thinking it could be a story between ANH and ESB, and it would end with the characters deciding to set up a base on Hoth.

I should think the "search for Han" is a bit of a non-starter since they knew full well where he was. Jabba may not have spent all his time on Tatooine, but it was certainly a known haunt. The trick was infiltrating the damn place and getting everyone out alive, most of which has already been covered.

I guess so. It wouldn't necessarily have to be these exact stories, I just thought it could be fun if this became a trilogy built entirely around the OT, with these characters taking part in some of the things that we know occurred between the movies.

 

[Reverend]

Honestly, I think if (and I stress *if*) they were going to go down this route, tying all three into each of the OT movies might be a little too cute. I think the more sensible approach is to tell an entirely separate story for the second movie and tie back into 'Return of the Jedi' for the finale.

If you stop and think about it, tESB features very little to do with larger galactic affairs. Aside from fleeing Hoth and amassing a fleet, we don't know what the rebellion might be up-to on other fronts. The whole movie is a much more personal story, centred on the main characters. So attempting to lead straight into it as R1 will with ANH won't make a lot of sense except just because they can.

That said, if they *have* to tie into Empire somehow, then I think the more interesting route isn't finding Hoth, but having an action scene involving a bounty hunter on Ord Mantell. An event alluded to in the movie but never really elaborated on and it fits with the general tone I think these movies are going for if the criminal underworld becomes the focus of the second movie.

 

[Mr Light]

<<I wasn't aware they'd done stories between ANH and ESB.>>
Are you being serious? The vast majority of material released in New Canon has been set just after ANH.

 

[JD]

I don't know why I said that. I'm actually reading the first Marvel comic series arc, and I have the Han and Chewie middle grade Journey to the Force Awakens book, both of which are between ANH and ESB.
DId one of the stories cover the move to Hoth already?

 

[Reverend]

I think the comics are still within a year or less of ANH. IIRC tESB is something like 3-4 years on. Besides, as I said the move to Hoth would seem to be something that would have happened mere months or weeks before the movie begins.

It's also worth remembering that at this point, the Alliance would still be spread out in several cell clusters. Indeed, I don't think the full force was ever assembled in one place until Endor.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Awesome Star Wars Celebration London poster:

 

[Mr Light]

As I recall, "Twilight Company" and "Lost Stars" both cover the move to Hoth.

 

[Turtletrekker]

In the old continuity, the late, great Archie Goodwin chronicled both the Bounty Hunter of Ord Mantell and the discovery of Hoth in the LA Times syndicated Star Wars newspaper strip.

Brian Daley wrote another version of the Bounty Hunter of Ord Mantell for an audio drama.

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[JD]

I think the comics are still within a year or less of ANH. IIRC tESB is something like 3-4 years on. Besides, as I said the move to Hoth would seem to be something that would have happened mere months or weeks before the movie begins.

It's also worth remembering that at this point, the Alliance would still be spread out in several cell clusters. Indeed, I don't think the full force was ever assembled in one place until Endor.

I didn't realize that. I had always assumed that Battles of Yavin 4 and Hoth both involved the entire Rebellion at the time they happened.

 

[Venardhi]

Yavin IV was almost certainly the central hub of the rebellion where much of the leadership and grand scheming was done, but there would still have been need of a network of bases and safehouses and outposts, and you never want to keep your entire fighting force in one place.

 

[Reverend]

I didn't realize that. I had always assumed that Battles of Yavin 4 and Hoth both involved the entire Rebellion at the time they happened.

It's something they're only really starting to get into now, mostly with Rebels and the things that have been intimated by the likes of Filloni & Hidalgo.
While the old EU treated what we saw in the movies as the *entire* rebellion, the new canon stuff is a lot more nuanced. From what I gather this all came from Lucas's ideas (shock! horror!) the beginnings of which we saw in TCW with the Onderon arc. You take that, the deleted scene from RotS and the goings on with 'Rebels' and it's prequel novel and you get a rough idea as to how things grew.

'New Dawn' is the key as it shows Hera, prior to leading an active cell was basically a scout and a spy for an unnamed individual (presumed to be Bail Organa) which is how she first runs across Kanan. So you get the sense than things would have moved *very* slowly, with Bail, Mon Mothma and probably the likes of Chuchi & Meena Tills quietly feeling out soft spots where resentment for the Empire was high, but fear of it was not all consuming and quietly building a network of agents. From there they grow and seed independent cells, which began to come together to form larger units following Ezra's broadcast with Bail and others funnelling them resources and equipment while still operating inside the Imperial bureaucracy, until each group of cells become a cohesive military unit in their own right.

The operation on Yavin IV would be one such larger cohesive group, though others would have been out there in smaller numbers. some local militias & gurilla fighters, some idealistic activists, others probably little better than terrorists. From what's been inferred, some of them (Saw & Cham for example) still operating independently and possibly even refusing to get involved in a larger conflict beyond their own provincial concerns.

By Hoth it seems the rebellion is still in at least two separate groups: the ground forces protected by a few fighter squadrons and their various small fleets, spread out across the galaxy. It's not until Endor that we see the whole thing fully assembled with the majority (if not the entirety) of their forces committed in one strike, with the Mon Calamari making up the bulk of the ships of the line.

 

[JD]

Interesting. I knew they started out as small cells, but I figured they were pretty much all together by the time of ANH.
I do have the Rebels prequel novel, so it sounds like I might have to read that soon.

 

[Reverend]

The Hera/Kanan novel is a good read, but don't expect much in the way of details as to what's going on since it's a pretty contained story. There's enough inference to piece together a few thing though.

I think it was Filloni in one of the Recon vids who said that the group we're seeing in Rebels are separate from Dodonna's cell on Yavin, hence them using the (I'm guessing old) A-Wings and possibly down the line the new B-wings, while the other cell had the old Y-Wings and the (presumably) new X-Wings.

It may be possible that at the time of ANH Yavin was the only base they had if the other group(s) had gone mobile again, looking for a new site. Maybe that's where Dantooine fits in, we'll have to wait and see.

 

[JD]

I'm very curious to see if we'll get any kind of connections between Rebels and Rogue One. I wouldn't think at least a reference to Phoenix cell, or Lothal would be totally out of place in a movie bringing a Clone Wars character into live action.

 

[Mr Light]

http://epicstream.com/news/Star-Wars-Rebels-Creator-Says-Season-3-May-Connect-to-Future-Films

 

[Reverend]

I'm very curious to see if we'll get any kind of connections between Rebels and Rogue One. I wouldn't think at least a reference to Phoenix cell, or Lothal would be totally out of place in a movie bringing a Clone Wars character into live action.

Perhaps there'll be a name drop, but I wouldn't hold out much hope. Remember that Rebels currently takes place several years before Rogue One, so any substantial connection could hinder the show.
For all we know that entire cell was wiped out or scattered when Ezra fell to the dark side and joined the Empire. Or they could all be fine and chilling out by the great temple on Yavin IV.
Whichever extreme is true, doing anything that addresses their status like having a character show up, mentioned in the past or present tense, or even just having the Ghost sat in the background of the hanger would instantly limit what the show can do.
Best to simply avoid the topic.

 

[Mach5]

ROGUE ONE panel @ Celebration Europe coming up, everybody!

Live stream over at the Star Wars show thread.

 

[JD]

RO stuff posted by IGN:
New vehicle images and descriptions
I like the Tie-Striker.
Poster
Really cool image, I love the ominous Death Star hovering overhead. The tagline is also a nice callback to A New Hope, without being obnoxious about it.
New behind the scenes trailer
I think this footage makes it pretty clear they are not backing down from the gritty feel at all. It looks like this is going to be one beautiful movie, there are a lot of gorgeous shots in this trailer.
Costumes and Props display from the show floor.
EDIT: Ooops. Jian Wen may have let slip a HUGE spoiler during the Rogue One panel. Just to make it clear, I'm not joking or being sarcastic, this really is a pretty major spoiler for this movie that could have a lasting effect on any potential future stories featuring these characters, if such a thing is likely. IGN does say it could potentially be a language translation issue since Jian is Chinese, but judging by the reactions from the other people on stage and the fact that the video of the panel has been made private, it seemed to be a genuine spoiler.
We also got a few bits about the characters that the actors revealed during the RO panel.