Check out some of the amazing costumes that will feature in Rogue One this December!
[dropcap size=small]I[/dropcap]was fortunate enough to catch the tail end of the Star Wars Celebration here in London this past Sunday. As a big Star Wars fan, it was a very magical day.
The ExCel exhibition centre was festooned with endless amounts of Star Wars memorabilia and merchandise, and impressive cosplayers roamed the halls. Many lined up for the chance to get a signature from many famous faces from a galaxy far far away, and excitement continued to fill the air all day long.
It truly was a veritable Star Wars dream-land.
One of the most exciting parts of the show floor was the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prop display, which showcased some of the new character’s costumes.
The panel on Friday revealed some new footage and a very neat poster, but the display gave us a closer look at some of the new characters we’ll be meeting, and in turn, what they tell us about the film.
The first costume that grabbed my attention as I entered the display was the imposing, crisp-white uniform belonging to Ben Mendelsohn’s character, Director Krennic Orson. The placard next to the costume sets up the character quite nicely, and was very telling of the kind of person Orson is going to be:
Display Placard:
‘Dir. Orson Krennic
As Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial military, Orson Krennic is obsessed with the completion of the long-delayed Death Star project. A cruel but brilliant man, Krennic has staked his reputation on the delivery of the functional battle station to the Emperor.’
Word is the director will be the main bad guy in the upcoming movie, and with this awesome costume and his “cruel but brilliant” description, it’s really not hard to imagine. I hope we see some cape-flicking action from Orson.
Krennic is clearly very invested in making sure the Death Star project goes ahead without any interruptions, most especially since the completion of the Death Star is “long-delayed.” This picks up on the fact that we see the Star Death under construction in Revenge of the Sith, but it’s only fully operational decades later in A New Hope – hinting that the plot of this film may go a long way to explaining why that is.
The next costume to steal the show was that of protagonist Jyn Erso (played by Felicity Jones). We got some insight into Erso as a person, and from the sounds of it, Jyn is going to be a very interesting, multi-faceted character.
Display placard:
‘Jyn Erso
Putting behind a checkered past by lending her skills to a greater cause, Jyn Erso is impetuous, defiant, and eager to bring the battle to the Empire. Used to operating alone, she finds higher purpose by taking on a desperate mission for the Rebel Alliance.’
As a loner type, Jyn will face some personal challenges working with her newly-founded rebel team, which is sure to offer up some character development along the way. The fact that she’s “eager to take the battle to the Empire” hints at some previous history and bad blood with the opposing side during her “chequered past,” and that has certainly piqued our interest.
A particular pair of characters had the coolest costumes out of the bunch, and they just so happen to be best friends in the movie. The “deeply spiritual” Chirrut Îmwe (played by Donnie Yen), and the “pragmatic solider,” Baze Malbus (played by Wen Jiang).
Chirrut Îmwe (pictured below left) is described as a “Warrior Monk” who believes “all living things are connected through the force.” He has “sightless eyes,” but that apparently doesn’t stop him being a “highly skilled warrior” who has rigorously trained his body with “intense physical and mental discipline.”
Baze Malbus (pictured below right) struggles to deal with the “harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world”, so you can imagine how personally invested he is in helping the Rebel team. He’s a crack shot with his “heavy repeater cannon,” and his “bravado is a marked contrast” to his “best friend and moral compass,” Îmwe.
Rogue One bromance confirmed, ladies and gentlemen.
Some very interesting new troopers were also on display who are known as Shoretroopers and Imperial Death Troopers.
The sandy, camouflaged “specialist Shoretroopers stationed at the top secret Imperial military headquarters,” patrol the beaches and bunkers of a “planetary facility.” The planetary facility – as we have now learned – is on the picturesque, tropical planet of Scarif, which was revealed in the recently announced Rogue One: Scarif Battlefront DLC.
Placed directly behind Krennic were the menacing Imperial Death Troopers -“elite soldiers of Imperial Intellgience” who are “encased in specialized Stormtrooper armor with a dark, ominous gleam.” They “serve as bodyguards and enforcers for Director Krennic,” which really adds to his bad guy persona.
Of course, the classic Stormtroopers we all know won’t be left out. Imperial Stormtroopers described as the “faceless legions of soldiers serving the Galatic Empire” will be getting in on the Death Star shenanigans in Rogue One too. One even looked like a leader of sorts.
There were also some very neat models on display, such as a Tie-Fighter variant known as the “Tie-Stricker,” and an “Imperial At-Act Cargo Walker” used to transport heavy building materials or combat munitions – which is perfect for the Death Star Project.
And of course there was an impressively detailed model of the incomplete Death Star itself. Described as the “brainchild of Grand Moff Tarkin,” upon completion the Death Star will “serve as the Emperor’s principal means of spreading fear throughout the galaxy.” But then, we knew that already.
The impressive costumes – which show off an array of characters – makes the prospect of seeing the new Star Wars story on the big screens all the more tantalising, and I can’t wait to see these costumes in action this December.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is due for release 16 December, 2016.
Thanks to my Dad and brother Matthew for letting me use some of their photos!
