How Rogue One Will Be Different From Other Star Wars Movies, According To One Of The Actors

There are certain basic ideas that we have come to expect from the Star Warsfranchise — things that rear their heads in every entry in the long running saga. However, that will soon change when the first standalone Star Wars movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, hit theaters later this year. Rogue One won’t just take the action away from the Skywalker clan to tell a different story; according to actor Riz Ahmed; the upcoming film will also present us with characters that possess far greater complexities than anything we’ve seen from this franchise before. He explained:

“The film is about complex characters and loyalties and murky pasts… The film is a little edgier, with people making these huge compromises. History isn’t always clear.”

Rogue One star Riz Ahmed recently sat down with The Wrap and laid out the major reasons why the first standalone Star Wars film will feel incredibly distinct from the other entries in the main saga. By his own estimation, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has a much grittier, and “edgier” feeling than the other films in this series. Loyalties will be questioned, and the morality of our characters will be put to the test more than ever before. After all, these characters are criminals and rebels drafted to fight a clandestine war.

If you’ve seen a single Star Wars film then you probably can already understand where he’s coming from. Over the course of the last seven Star Wars movies, the saga has pretty much relied on very clear cut definitions of good and evil to construct its characters. Even at his most roguish, Han Solo‘s anti-hero persona never felt like it teetered on the brink of villainy. With the release of Rogue One, we will see the morality of our characters delve into a much more grey area.

It goes without saying that this represents a gamble for the Star Wars saga. On one hand, it shows that the series has matured to the point where filmmakers can start telling this type of story within the Star Wars universe. On the other hand, it will certainly be interesting to see whether or not Rogue One actually feels like a Star Wars movie without the reliance on a traditional good vs. evil narrative. Everything we’ve seen from the film promises a stellar adventure, but we will have to wait and see whether or not director Gareth Edwards can properly take the saga in a new direction.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will hit theaters later this year on December 16, 2016.