After a two year break, Wes, Clay and Dave have reassembled to pull off the ultimate heist: to podcast about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Rogue One is the first of the Star Wars Anthology films (and there ended up being only two). The goal of these films was to step away from the Skywalker saga and show a different part of the universe.



Rogue One focuses on the previously mentioned plot to steal the plans for the Death Star. In A New Hope, there is a throwaway line about rebels having sacrificed their lives to steal the plans that ultimately reveal the Death Stars weakness to the Rebel Alliance. Rogue One details that heist and focuses on previously unknown characters. It strives to portray a more realistic, guerilla warfare that sometimes becomes indistinguishable from terrorism.



Instead of a Skywalker, the film focuses on Jyn, a young woman who finds herself persuaded to aid the rebels. She assembles a motley crew to steal the plans, and the third act does manage some spectacular action sequences and emotional payoffs.



Oh, and the film features some uncanny valley horror shots where grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia are resurrected via "cutting edge" CGI and forced to perform.



The guys get together to discuss the somewhat surprising Rogue One. They discuss how effectively the film breaks away from the core Star Wars story, and try to understand what works and what doesn't. Is Star Wars a universe that can support tangential stories, or does it only work when it focuses on the swashbuckling adventures of space knights?



Plus!



The guys rank where Rogue One sits in the Star Wars filmography, discuss limiting the use of Darth Vader, and review the original story beats and try to figure out why those ideas were ever considered in the first place.