‘Star Wars’ trailer previews story of past rebels

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

The dust has barely settled from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” but audiences already have a new installment to get excited for.

The world got a glimpse of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” in a teaser trailer that debuted Thursday on “Good Morning America” and quickly became a top trending topic on Twitter. The movie looks back to the events before 1977’s “A New Hope,” introducing the ragtag rebels who unite to steal plans for the Death Star.

One of them is Felicity Jones from “The Theory of Everything,” whose blaster-wielding character Jyn Erso is featured prominently in the spot as she’s tasked with the dangerous mission. The film is directed by Gareth Edwards, best known for the 2014 reboot of “Godzilla.”

“Rogue One,” which hits theaters Dec. 16, also stars Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Ben Mendelsohn and martial-arts star Donnie Yen.

In the world of “Rogue One,” Edwards said at a fan event last year, the “absence of Jedi is omnipresent.”

The characters in the film realize that the “gods are not coming to save us,” he said. “It comes down to a group of people who don’t have magical powers who band together to bring hope to the galaxy.”