Rogue One trailer provides first look at new spin-off film

Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, and Ben Mendelsohn star in the Gareth Edwards-directed spin-off

The Rogue One trailer is officially here; designed to fill that Star Wars-shaped hole in your life until the release of Episode VIII in 2017.

Gareth Edwards directs this spin-off tale following a wayward band of Rebel fighters brought together for one improbable mission: steal the plans for the Death Star. These events, of course, directly link into the first scenes of A New Hope; when Princess Leia is seen concealing the plans in R2-D2 before she's captured by the Galactic Empire.

And it's clear from this first look that the film is looking to neatly tie into that narrative; with the return of Mon Mothma, who we see recruit the rebellious Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) for the mission. It's interesting, as well, to see the Star Wars universe move away from the Jedi narrative; meaning the action here will have a distinctly different vibe to it as evidenced by Donnie Yen's martial arts-influenced fighting techniques.

We've also gotten our first glimpse at what appears to be the main antagonist of the film, played by Ben Mendelsohn in the world's most fabulous cloak. And is that Darth Vader seen kneeling down in front of some mysterious power core?

The film also features Diego Luna, Jian Wen, Forest Whitaker, Alan Tudyk, and Riz Ahmed; with many wondering where cast member Mads Mikkelsen is being kept hidden, that rumours suggest may be playing a young Lor San Tekka, Max von Sydow's role in The Force Awakens.

In February, we learned that the movie is almost finished. "Filming of Rogue One is virtually completed and we absolutely love what we’ve seen so far,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. “This is the first of a set of planned stand-alone stories and we’re already in preproduction on our next one, for release in May of 2018."

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits UK theatres 16 December.