New Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Characters Revealed

06/22/2016 01:05 pm EDT

Meet K-2SO, Baze Malbus, and Chirrut Imwe, three of the all-new characters in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. After months of mystery, we finally have the first concrete information about most of the cast of the film, with names and character descriptions for all the major players, with the exception of Forest Whitaker's character (who will be revealed later today), thanks to a new EW reveal.

We went into detail on Ben Mendelsohn's new Director Krennic here, but he's just the tip of the iceberg on today's reveals.

Alan Tudyk plays the droid K-2SO. While you can only see the white edges of it, yes, that's an Imperial symbol on his right shoulder. While they're not talking about how he goes from being a droid of the Empire to a droid of the Rebellion just yet, he's described as a security droid, and "the antithesis of C-3PO" by director Gareth Edwards. "Kaytoo is a little bit like Chewbacca's personality in a droid's body. He doesn't give a s**t about what you think. He doesn't fully check himself before he says things and does things." Edwards did tease that he's seeking redemption, implying that this droid isn't re-programmed, but instead simply chooses to change sides, something we've seen recently in the pages of Marvel Comics' C-3PO #1 special and on Star Wars Rebels, proving droids can defect.

Baze Malbus, played by Jiang Wen, and Donnie Yen's Chirrut Imwe come as a pair - if an unlikely one. While Baze's armored soldier relies on a blaster and doesn't believe in the Force, he fiercely protects his friend Chirrut's deep spirituality. Chirrut (pronunciation: chi-RUT, emphasis on the second syllable) is not a Jedi, but is a firm believer in the Force and the values of the Jedi. His beliefs, and the way he carries on the code (they're not saying whether or not he's even Force sensitive yet), seem to parallel the way Lor San Tekka is a Force believer/preserver in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy describes Chirrut as "a warrior monk [who] very much still believes in everything the Jedi were about." He steps up to protect those who can't protect themselves, despite his blindness, and that means going against the Empire.

Meanwhile, Diego Luna's character is Captain Cassian Andor. He's a Rebel intelligence officer, overseeing Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and her mission to steal the Death Star plans. "He conveys a fair amount of experience and the reality of what it's like to do this every day, to try to figure out how to resist the Empire effectively and intelligently. It's not easy," teases the Star Wars Story Group's Kiri Hart. Erso, meanwhile, has been off on her own since age 15 and as seen in the trailer, comes to the Rebellion by being captured by them - implying her scene at the end in an Imperial uniform may be more than just an infiltration mission of some sort.

As earlier revealed, Mad Mikkelsen is playing her father, Galen Erso. He's a scientist that both the Empire and Rebellion are trying to recruit to their side, but he hasn't been in Jyn's life for around a decade, basically the bulk of the Empire's rule. Lucasfilm won't give pretty much any other details, including why he and Jyn haven't been together for now.

Rounding out the cast reveals is Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook, the lead pilot in this ragtag band of Rebels. Rook is described as "hot-headed" but an excellent pilot, who frequently runs cargo for the Rebellion. "He tends to be a little tense, a little volatile, but everybody in the group really relies on his technical skills," Kennedy says.

Stay tuned for more soon on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, hitting theaters December 16, 2016.

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