[a] The main cast consists of Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, and Forest Whitaker.

Aided by blind spiritual warrior Chirrut Îmwe and his mercenary friend Baze Malbus, Jyn makes contact with Saw, who is holding Bodhi.

James Earl Jones also reprises his role from previous films as the voice of Darth Vader,[24] who is physically portrayed by Spencer Wilding during the meeting with Krennic and aboard the Star Destroyer, and by Daniel Naprous at the end of the movie.

[25][26][27] Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia Organa are played by Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila respectively, with the digital likenesses of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher superimposed.

[61][62][63] In May 2016, reports emerged the film would undergo five weeks of reshoots with Tony Gilroy writing additional scenes, as well as acting as a second-unit director under Edwards.

[73] In January 2015, The Hollywood Reporter stated numerous actresses, including Tatiana Maslany, Rooney Mara, and Felicity Jones were being assessed for the film's lead.

In Iceland, the crew shot in Reynisfjara, and around the mountains of Hjörleifshöfði and Hafursey at Mýrdalssandur, which were used to represent the Erso homestead on Lah'mu and the Imperial research facility on Eadu respectively.

[123] As the film's reshooting affected the post-production process, Desplat opted out from the project due to his commitments for scoring Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and was replaced by Michael Giacchino in September 2016.

[131] The Daily Telegraph described Jyn Erso's character as "a roguish, Han Solo-style heroine," calling the film "progressive," while noting its painstaking faithfulness to the production design style of the original Star Wars trilogy.

[132] The Hollywood Reporter also noted the visual nods to the original trilogy, and examined the film's possible narrative direction, considering that the outcome is to some extent already revealed in the opening crawl of A New Hope.

[136] During the event, a new official poster was unveiled, which depicts a battle taking place on the tropical planet Scarif, with the Death Star looming large in a blue sky, above which is printed the tagline "A Rebellion Built on Hope".

[101] Variety also hailed the Vader reveal, and noted that the emphasis of the production was much more on the kinetic depiction of large battle sequences and full-on warfare, comparing it to Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now.

[140] Vanity Fair also commented on the emphasis given to Jyn's relationship with her father, suggesting that Rogue One was drawing on "the Star Wars franchise's greatest natural resource: daddy issues.

The official Star Wars Facebook page of the respective Asian countries also featured clips and videos of Donnie Yen speaking various languages, greeting fans and telling them to support the film.

[145] Written by veteran Star Wars novelist James Luceno, the story is set some years before the events of Rogue One, and provides a backstory to the 2016 film.

[148] Guardians of the Whills was written by novelist and comic writer Greg Rucka, and focuses on the characters Chirrut and Baze, telling their backstories as well as giving more context to the events that happened on Jedha prior to the Imperial occupation depicted in the film.

To promote the release of Andor, Disney re-released Rogue One into over 150 IMAX theaters across the United States and Canada on August 26, 2022, featuring an exclusive preview of the Disney+ series ahead of its three-episode premiere on September 21, 2022.

[5] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $319.6 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participation, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it third on their list of 2016's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".

The site's critical consensus reads, "Rogue One draws deep on Star Wars mythology while breaking new narrative and aesthetic ground and suggesting a bright blockbuster future for the franchise.

[171][178] IGN reviewer Eric Goldman gave the film 9 out of 10, describing Rogue One's storytelling being related to the plot of Star Wars (1977) as a "tricky gambit", but praised it for being clear and connected.

[180] /Film rated Rogue One an 8 out of 10, with writer Peter Sciretta enjoying the darker tone, action sequences, Giacchino's score, and felt it retroactively improved Star Wars by providing additional context and backstory.

[181] Justin Chang, writing for the Los Angeles Times, praised Fraser's cinematography and also enjoyed the action sequences, feeling its storytelling would "immediately ascend to classic status" and justified its existence.

He also offered general praise for cast performances, including that of Mikkelsen, Mendelsohn, Jones, Tudyk, Yen, and Luna, but felt the film did not "go rogue at any stage" and considered it to be released during the cultural zeitgeist of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

[183] In another 4 star review for The Guardian, Mark Kermode further praised the cast, enjoying the diversity and positively compared Jynn's character to that of Ellen Ripley from the film Aliens (1986).

He also praised the cinematography of the battle scenes, which he described as being evocative of the Normandy landings and Vietnam War, and felt the standalone nature of the film allowed it to raise the dramatic stakes during the third act.

[184] In a more critical review, The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday regarded the film as being simplistic and a "placeholder", comparing its imagery to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Arrival (2016).

Brody positively regarded Fraser's cinematography, and considered it his favorite element of the film, but was not affected by the death of major characters as he was not emotionally invested in their story.

[194] While much of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) received positive reviews, some news organizations published criticism about certain aspects, including the visual effects (VFX) that were used to revive Peter Cushing, who had died in 1994, as Grand Moff Tarkin.

"[198] Some journalists also criticized the quality of the CGI that was used to represent a younger Carrie Fisher in order to portray Princess Leia at an earlier time, as well as its suitability in movie-making.

"[199] Kelly Lawler of USA Today said that "while Tarkin is merely unnerving, the Leia cameo is so jarring as to take the audience completely out of the film at its most emotional moment.