Star Wars: The Force Awakens is soooo last year. Star Wars: Rogue One, in the wake of its official trailer debut, is right now. Even though Disney released the Blu-ray edition of The Force Awakens just two days ago, the studio is quickly transitioning into Rogue One fever. The official Star Wars Instagram account posted an image of Rogue One merchandise for the first time, and hype for the upcoming spin-off film is only going to grow from here.
Disney must be careful, though. Ahead of The Force Awakens’ release last year, certain toy merchandising lightly spoiled plot elements of Episode VII. With Rogue One treading ground that the Star Wars universe has never explored before, the studio need to avoid revealing specific details about the movie’s characters or climatic moments.
There’s a long road ahead until Star Wars: Rogue One hits theaters. In September, Disney will host Force Friday, which will unveil the majority of Rogue One merchandising to eager fans everywhere. But a lot can happen in that time. And with more teaser trailers on the way, those same fans will be examining every frame in search of character details and plot developments.
This week’s trailer received a mostly positive reaction from the Star Wars fanbase. While some complained that director Gareth Edward’s vision was too dark or action-oriented, most were excited by the prospect of a Star Wars movie like never before. Not a single lightsaber powered on during the trailer, and the emphasis seems to be focused on ground battles and the heist mission that Jyn Erso and her team are trying to pull off. It will be interesting to see the merchandise reflect Rogue One’s story and characters.
One thing’s for sure: those Shadow Trooper action figures are going to be badass. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters Dec. 16.
