STAR WARS Spinoff Titled STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE; Felicity Jones Set As Star

The second big Star Wars announcement to hit the wire today is that we now have a name, star and release date for the first of the Star Wars Spin-offs. The film, which is set for a December, 16, 2016 release, is titled: Star Wars: Rogue One, and will star Academy Award nominated actress Felicity Jones.

While there have not been any details revealed about the film as of yet, there are plenty of rumors that the film will be a “dirty dozen” style film about several bounty hunters (led by Boba Fett), who have been hired by the rebels to find and steal the plans for the Death Star. Chances are, Jones will be playing a new character, but I think she’d be great as Sabine Wren.

Here’s the official news:
Rogue One is the title for the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga. Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz). The first actress cast is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim for her performance in The Theory of Everything. The idea for the story of Rogue One came from John Knoll, an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic. He will executive produce along with Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds). Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) are on board to produce and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co-produce. The film starts shooting this summer in London and is due for release on December 16, 2016.