The Weekly Scoundrel Presents – Rogue One Wins Gold at the Rio Olympics

So, the new Rogue One trailer premiered tonight…you guys saw that, right? At least a dozen times, cool, that’s what I figured…I’ve indulged several times myself, and, if I’m being honest, it didn’t illicit the same response that the first one did for me; that’s not to say I didn’t like it, I did, very much, but I just feel like there wasn’t as much punch in it. Maybe it’s because I’d been building it up in my head since Celebration and there was simply no way the real thing was ever going to live up to my idealized imagination, or maybe it was just because we got so much background information between the Celebration panel, the EW info, and other sources (like the Star Wars Show, for example) that it just felt like there was nothing really “new” about it…the best part, though, hands down, regardless of how you felt about it, was the visuals; Rogue One is going to be a feast for the eyes, for sure…so, with that in mind, here are my top three visuals from the new Rogue One trailer:

The Sprawling City

^ Different format…weird, right? Okay, anyway, it’s a shame this shot was so short and right at the beginning of the trailer, because it’s amazing. I’m already hoping for a new 30-second teaser trailer that’s nothing but a panorama of this cityscape. The first thing that jumped out at me (as it did for most people, I’m sure) was what are those quad-wing Lambda-class shuttles? I guess the rebels aren’t the only ones getting a fancy new troop transport ship; and, of course, leave it to the Empire to one-up the U-Wing by making a way cooler-looking ship…jerks. Anyway, the second thing that grabbed my attention and has left me the most curious is, simply, where are they? My best guess, especially considering the involvement of Saw Gerrera, is Onderon. According to the Star Wars Databank, Onderon is made up of “enormous walled cities”…well, that looks like a pretty enormous walled city to me…and, sure, there could be other planets that also adopted the strategy of walling themselves in from the dangers of the outside world, but, I mean, c’mon, why would they do that? And, besides, Saw seems like the Cham Syndulla kind of rebel that wouldn’t leave his home planet to join a greater rebellion, so them having to go to Onderon to recruit him, ask for his help, whatever, makes perfect sense. So, yeah, tell all your friends that the big city in the Rogue One trailer is definitely on Onderon…and if it turns out not to be, just say you heard it on Twitter…

K-2SO

I love this droid. I know there were a lot of other more interesting visuals, like Chirrut being a badass, for example, but I just wanted K2 to get his due…because he is awesome. He’s like C-3PO’s evil twin:  he’s big, but seems nimble and not all clunky; he’s dark, matte, and scuffed, not at all shiny; he’s violent, which is a great quality for a droid, and a complete 180 from goldenrod’s etiquette and protocol routine…he’s basically the love child of Chopper and HK-47 from Knights of the Old Republic with a little BT-1 and 0-0-0 thrown in for good measure, i.e. the perfect droid. Plus, he has two great lines in the trailer, and seems like he’s going to be dry comic relief in what should otherwise be a fairly dark, intense movie. I’m really looking forward to seeing what becomes of him, and sincerely hope he makes it out at least mostly intact so he can potentially show up in some form or another later…

Jyn vs. TIE Fighter

Alright, here’s how this goes:  it looks bad, it looks like Jyn’s cornered with the Death Star plans, she’s not going to make it, the Rebellion’s not actually going to get that big victory they so desperately need, but then it turns out that it’s Captain Andor in the TIE Fighter and he and Jyn escape to deliver the plans to whomever until they eventually end up with a certain princess aboard a certain cruiser…or…OR! Maybe, just maybe, since TIEs don’t have shields and their cockpit has a pretty large glass surface, if Jyn can get a good shot off before the TIE opens up on her she could end up blasting the pilot before the pilot even knows what hit him (or her, could be a her in there). Or, who knows, maybe the TIE gets shot down right at the last second from the air or the ground or, or, or, or, etc. The point is this is an amazing shot, and I can’t wait to see how it pans out…

And there they are, my three favorite visuals! Maybe there were better options, but those are my favorites; though I’d definitely give a very strong honorable mention to the scene were Chirrut delivers the fantastic line, “I fear nothing; all is as the Force wills it.” (I’m so looking forward to seeing Donnie Yen in action in this movie.) So what were your favorite scenes, visuals, lines, impressions, etc.? Did you pick all the same ones I did, or a whole different set? Are you as stoked about K2 as I am, or do you think he’s going to be lame? (If you do, you’re crazy, just saying.) Who do you think your favorite character will be? And are you a little disappointed that, even though we got to see some great alien characters in the Celebration reel, there were none to be found trailer? Think it over and keep the conversation going in the comments, or don’t, you know, whatever, you be you, either way, I’ll be back next week…