We are in the throes of a golden age of Star Wars. Disney streamlining the galaxy into a single, coherent whole with comics, television, and films could”ve been a disaster. Instead it has ushered in a new era of complex and intertwined storytelling for the franchise. This December, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will expand on both the Jedi lore being explored in Star Wars Rebels and tell the story of how Princess Leia ended up with the plans for the Death Star in the opening moments of A New Hope.
Earlier this week we learned Rogue One will take audiences to a Force-sensitive ‘Holy Land” located on the planet Jedha. Director Gareth Edwards revealed the Empire will be crawling all over the place for reasons unknown. I speculated at the time that perhaps the Empire hopes to find a larger cache of kyber crystals to power the Death Star”s laser. The rare stones are used to power both lightsabers and other (Sith) weapons in Star Wars lore. Based on how A New Hope turns out, if the Empire wants a power source from Jedha they”re probably going to get it.
Proof even looks like it”s in the new trailer. Buckle up, because this is probably a spoiler. But can it really be a spoiler if it”s in the trailer? Ah, Schrodinger”s Spoiler.
The very first shot of the new Rogue One trailer shows off Jedha in all its ancient glory. Obelisks, aqueducts, and a structure similar in nature to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant take up the entire plateau. A mishmash of architectural designs gives visual shorthand for how long the city has endured.
Now the trailer never comes out and states this city is Jedha, but I feel confident in naming it such as the wide shots display an ancient walled city. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of ancient history would recognize the shoutout to Jerusalem. Maybe if the WWZ film had used these walls, the city would”ve lasted to the end of the apocalypse.
On a purely “let”s read way too much into this” level, I”m beginning to wonder if Star Wars' fascination with desert planets is tied to the Force. First Tatooine, then Jakku, and now Jedha. That”s a lot of planets with no discernible resources that end up being populated and producing/housing Force-sensitive people. Perhaps some ancient cataclysm (created by sentient beings) destroyed all planets that were hubs of the Force.
But back to the topic at hand. What does the Empire want with Jedha? As I stated earlier, the going theory right now is a power source for the Death Star. But Mon Mothma has said in every trailer that “A major weapons test is imminent.” This doesn”t disprove the kyber crystal theory though, as the power source could be the final phase of construction. But wouldn”t the Empire want to bring their super weapon as close as possible to speed up production? Oh…
Well, that”s ominous. But hey, at least Jedha is safe, right? Even if the Death Star puts the finishing touches on their giant laser of doom, the first show of power will be in A New Hope when Alderaan is obliterated. Right? Oh…
The Empire has no respect for ancient history! They”re the Nathan Drake of the galaxy. So much of the historical record lost in a single moment!
But if that shot of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is truly of them fleeing Jedha ahead of its Biblical destruction, it would give the two of them a very good reason to work together to stop the Death Star at any cost. Andor says he”s been recruiting for the Rebellion for a long time, which gives him a built-in reason to take on this suicide mission. But for audience member wondering why Jyn Erso joins the fray, the reason could very well be explosive.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters on December 16, 2016.