It is so easy to be cynical. After all, every summer movie of any attention or distinction is some sort of franchise play, a sequel or a prequel or a spinoff or a reboot, and lately, they’re not even safely consigned to the summer. First came the Hunger Games movies, November releases that stole all the moneys; then Star Wars: The Force Awakens was bumped from the franchise’s traditional May berth into the Christmas season, and everybody saw it over the holidays to avoid awkward conversations with their family.
And now we have Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and as we’re fleeing an awful summer of blockbuster garbage, it’s easy to to be cynical about this “spin-off,” a new piece of Star Wars #product to maximize the value of Disney’s big buyout. There was just a Star Wars movie a year ago! It’s not precious anymore! And so on and so on.
But this is a good trailer. It’s got stirring music and Felicity Jones being tough and Ben Mendelsohn being deliciously evil and Riz Ahmed being inspiring and MADS FUCKING MIKKELSEN, everybody:
See what I mean?
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is out December 16.