'Rogue One' Olympics Trailer Breakdown

As if the already-intense and nerve-racking 2016 Olympic Games in Rio wasn't enough to keep people glued to their television and computer screens, the release of the second trailer for December's highly-anticipated Star Wars spin-off, Rouge One, managed to boost the ratings of the massive sporting showcase far into the stars. Offering up even more war-like footage mixed with its own sense of familiarity within the Star Wars saga, our newest peek at another promising film from the space-age franchise delivered just the right amount of hype to confirm that I'll be in the theater seat opening night. But did this coveted trailer show too much? Is the prequel to A New Hope still in trouble after numerous rumored reshoots? Let's find out as I breakdown just how this trailer changed my view on the growing Star Wars universe.

One of the first things I noticed in this trailer, an element that has been slowly building in the Star Wars franchise since the idea popped into George Lucas' head, had to be the scale of it all. Set to bring us to a whole new playing field we haven't yet seen in the galaxy far, far away, Rogue One dives into a time when the villainous Empire reigned supreme, and its most vile admiral was still able to swing a lightsaber with ease. Putting that certain lightsaber-wielding foe clad in all black and one menacing breathing sound aside, however, one of the major things that quickly drew me into this risky spin-off was just how massive the potential it has to explore worlds, characters, and storylines we've yet to see on-screen. One example of this, which has a great presence in the new trailer is the ancient civilization of Jedha, a desert planet not to far off from that of Tatooine. Now occupied by the Empire, throwing the once-sacred home to believers of the Force into a battle for survival between the weary Rebels and the tyrannical Imperial forces, this aged temple where peace and resilience once prospered could offer more than we might expect as to what happened to the Jedi after Revenge of the Sith. Opening up a fantastic range of possibilities -- from hints to the history of both the Empire and the Rebels, as well as the Jedi, to appearances from notable players in the Star Wars saga -- taking us to a new world with unexpected outcomes could be Rogue One's first attempt at bringing a new layer to the space franchise.

With little known about many of the key characters in this film, especially where they might fit into the ancestry or history of the characters we've already seen on-screen, this trailer also managed to retain my interest in its unique cast, without even going to in-depth as to who they truly are. Besides our central protagonist, loner rebel with a checkered past Jyn Erso (played by Felicity Jones) -- whom we still don't know where her true allegiance lies -- a number of character got their shot at the spotlight in this trailer. Most notably, Diego Luna's Cassian Andor populated the teaser with his ambitious and unusual eagerness to fight alongside rebel scum like that of Erso. Hopefully able to hold his own like the accomplished Rebel Intelligence Officer he is, it'll be great to see Andor's and Jyn Erso's relationship blossom, as the two fight to steal the plans for the Empire's deadly new weapon. Two other characters I found interesting in the trailer were best buds Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus (Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen). War-torn brothers-in-arms against the Empire, which has taken its fair share from the duo, the blind Force-worshipper Chirrut and his pragmatic assassin ally, Baze, a soldier with his own unique moral compass, look to be more fantastic characters this movie needs in order to introduce other famous Star Wars names to the silver screen.

Rebel patriot or Imperial spy? Where does Ms.
Erso's allegiance truly lie?

Aside from its intriguing tale of how exactly Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia got her hands on the secret weakness of the Death Star in A New Hope, another element that continues to draw me into this film are its action sequences. With this trailer only increasing the level of danger presented to our scrappy heroes, from soaring through desolate and demolishing planets to all-out war on the beaches of an Imperial-occupied moon, our latest display of action presented by this trailer truly ensures us that this is a very, very different Star Wars film from what we've gotten from the franchise so far. Tossing away its lightsaber battles for a gracious amount of gunplay and espionage, Rogue One -- being in the place in time where it is -- definitely ups the stakes as we really don't know who may come out of the battle unscathed. Risky yet highly intuitive in its conception, a Star Wars film such as this has the potential to be highly influential to the galaxy fans of the franchise grew up on. Or just the opposite. 

Nevertheless, the newest trailer for December's newest Star Wars prequel ensured us that not only can the franchise be capable of focusing on more than just the Jedi and Sith, but it can also sell us on a film without revealing a sliver of major plot details. Promising not only a Star Wars film dynamically unlike its previous episodic installments, but also the return of one of cinema's greatest villains (who delivers an intense if not brief cameo in this trailer), Rogue One still might not be completely flawless in my eyes yet, but it continues to look highly promising and very, very exciting. 

What did you think of the newest Rogue One trailer? Were you surprised to see ole Darth Vader pop up at the end? Let me know your thoughts on the trailer in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more trailer breakdowns and upcoming movie reviews!