Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ‘Come Back’ Clip Released

12/06/2016 01:42 pm EST

Next week, Lucasfilm will finally debut its first spin-off from the Star Wars films. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will tell the events between Star Wars: Episode III and IV as the Rebellion looks for a way to steal plans to the Imperial Death Star. Now, a brand-new clip from the film has been released, and it shows how fearsome the Galactic Empire is.

The clip features Mads Mikkelsen's Galen Erso while he is being confronted by Director Krennic. The Imperial officer has come to retrieve Erso now that plans to test the Death Star have soured, but the latter seems unwilling to go with him.

UP NEXT: Is This Darth Vader Without Armor In Rogue One?

"What is it you want?" Erso asks.

Krennica answers, "The work stalled. I need you to come back." When Erso says he refuses to do so, the office then tells the weapon's designer, "We were on the verge of greatness. We were this close to providing peace and security for the galaxy."

"You're confusing peace with terror," Erso comments.

Nonplussed, Krennic answers with this foreboding line. "Well, you have to start somewhere."

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."

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

More Star Wars News: Why Darth Vader's Costume Changed for Rogue One | How Rogue One Opens Without a Crawl | Spoiler-Free Review of First 30 Minutes of Rogue One | Star Wars: Rogue One Director Wants An Obi-Wan Movie | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Jyn Erso Featurette Released | George Lucas Loved Rogue One