Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Duracell Commercial Uses The Force for Good

Some missions are too important to trust to any old batteries. That’s the crux of Duracell’s now-annual Star Wars themed commercial, though this one barely touches on Duracell’s product. Instead, it shows how children, through the power of imagination, can band together to do some good for each other.

The commercial sees a girl in a children’s hospital, complete with her identifying wristband, putting batteries into an R2-D2 toy. She receives a mission from new droid K-2SO, and is instantly transformed into Jyn Erso. As she sneaks around, other kids join her cause, wielding Star Wars Nerf guns as they sneak around the ward. The fully-produced costume and special effects sections cut out to the actual sick kids tip-toeing around, with hospital employees pleasantly amused.

As they turn the corner, they arrive at their destination, gifting Artoo to another child who is stuck in bed. And then we all start crying. The commercial, incidentally, also does a great job of demonstrating the “Star Wars for all” mentality that the diverse cast of Rogue One and The Force Awakens before it helps to promote. The kids in the trailer are multicultural, and there are even more girls playing Star Wars than boys in this particular instance.

Duracell partnered with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for the commercial, and have partnered them for a donation drive at https://cmnhospitals.org/duracell so go to that link to find out how you can help power children’s imaginations throughout the holidays.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film stars Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, a young member of the Rebel Alliance tasked with a critical mission: stealing the plans to the Death Star. Taking place ahead of the original Star Wars film, it’s the first of the new standalone movies that Lucasfilm has planned for the even years, with the episodic “Skywalker Saga” films coming in odd years.