Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the start of a whole new generation of Star Wars fans being able to see their favourite science-fiction epic on the big screen. Unlike the prequels, the new film lived up to its hype, and has been generating buzz ever since.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is just one of many films that will be released telling the story of Star Wars beyond that of Luke, Leia, and Han. Studio executives are calling it a standalone film, revolving not around the Force, but instead around a small group of resistance fighters, who oppose the Empire and its capacity for destruction. Set just before the events of A New Hope, Rogue One will follow this group, who come together in an attempt to steal the plans for the Death Star. If they indeed succeed, Rogue One would finally tell the story of those fated Death Star plans, and how they wound up in the hands of Princess Leia.

Director Gareth Edwards has promised a film that explores the grey area between good and evil and “the realities of war”. He said that “the absence of the Jedi hangs over the movie”, meaning that the responsibility for stealing those plans falls on warriors who lack “magical powers”.

Rogue One has an impressive, and diverse, cast, consisting of Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Jonathan Aris, and Alan Tudyk. Jones plays the lead, a rebel soldier named Jyn Erso, who has “fear, humour, and warmth”. From her appearance in the trailer, Erso seems more Han Solo than Luke Skywalker, which is a welcome change for a Star Wars lead, and sets up the movie to indeed be more of a heist/war film than a straight-up sci-fi adventure.

Watch the first trailer below, and let us know what you think. Are you as excited for Rogue One: A Star Wars story as we are? The film hits theatres on December 16, 2016.