New Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Behind-the-Scenes Images Released

The UK branch of Lucasfilm continues to push Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this weekend, having released two new banner-style posters for the film earlier Sunday. Now, they take a look not at the finished product of the film, but the behind-the-scenes angle of things, from the shooting of the film.

The pictures come via Star Wars Afficianado, who simply say that Disney UK released the images. There's a wide variety of looks, as well. A blaster rifle-wielding alien who looks rather cranky leads the charge. A couple of second unit shots follow, featuring the character Baze Malbus and a black armor-clad Death Trooper along with several of the crew. Donnie Yen, who plays the blind Force-worshipping monk Chirrut Îmwe, gets the spotlight next, followed by two shots of director Gareth Edwards out building his craft. A hyperspace jump and some rebels out on the beaches of Scarif lead up to the big moment: a shot of fan favorite Warwick Davis smiling on the set. Davis made his Star Wars debut in 1983 as the lovable ewok Wicket in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. The actor would go on to appear in a few roles in Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and returned once more for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (see if you can pick out his alien character in Maz Kanata's fortress bar). The UK based actor, who frequently hosts events at Star Wars Celebration conventions, is rumored to be back for Star Wars: Episode VII, as well.

Click through the gallery below for the full look at the new behind-the-scenes images.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits US theaters December 16, 2016. Directed by Gareth Edwards, it's the first of the new standalone features from Lucasfilm and Disney, which take place outside the core "Skywalker Saga" of films noted by an Episode number. Rogue One tells the story of the small band of rebels that were tasked with stealing the plans to the first Death Star. The story spins directly off the opening crawl from the original Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. In that crawl, it read: "Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet."