Everything We Think We Know About Star Wars: Rogue One

Disney has been unusually tight-lipped about just what we're going to see in the upcoming Star Wars spinoff/prequel Rogue One, set to debut on December 16, 2016 But if the rumors swirling around the Internet are to be believed, there are a whole boatload of details we can expect to unfold on the big screen when Rogue One takes flight. So just what do these rumors tell us about the most hotly anticipated film of the year? Here's a look at all the latest spoilers and speculation.

Given that Rogue One tells the story of how the Rebel Alliance stole the Death Star plans in the days leading up to A New Hope, rumors have long been swirling that Darth Vader would make some kind of appearance in the film. But the latest scuttlebutt seems to reveal that Vader won't have just a cameo, but rather will play a significant role in the film. Hey, when you have the greatest and most iconic villain in film history available to you, you'd be pretty dumb not to use him.

Another rumor that's been getting a lot of traction is that Rogue One will feature a new strain of Stormtroopers, this time, wearing all-black armor rather than all-white. Reportedly known as "Death Troopers," these mysterious jerks seem to be patterned after the Shadow Troopers from the Extended Universe. Of course, the Extended Universe has been disavowed, so just how explicit this connection is remains to be seen. Either way, though, one thing is for sure: having Stormtroopers with black armor is going to sell a heck of a lot of action figures.

Every Star Wars film has to have its cool, lovable droids. Whether it's C-3PO, R2-D2, BB-8, or IG-88 (hey, he can be loveable!), droid sidekicks are pretty much a must in the Star Wars universe. Well, it seems likely that Rogue One is no different. While the name of the droid has yet to be announced (we're guessing something with letters and numbers?), it will be a bipedal, humanoid droid, rather than a soccer ball or a trash can. It's also been reported that this automaton is actually an Empire droid that has been reconditioned to serve the Rebellion. You go, heroic turncoat robot!

Only one new name from Rogue One has been floated as a possibility, but you can rest easy: it's just as silly as you were hoping. While the spelling is still uncertain, one of the characters is supposedly going to be named Cashen. Or maybe Kashyn, which would fit in perfectly with pervious silly Star Wars names like Kashyyyk, the wookiee hoeworld. Or Snoke. Or Jar-Jar Binks. Or Jek Porkins. Or... okay, you get the drift. Actually, compared to some of these names, Cashen is almost downright normal.

Hey, remember that time George Lucas suddenly decided that Anakin Skywalker built C-3PO in a cave with a box of scraps? Well, the people in charge may be different now, but they don't seem to be afraid of making a few retcons themselves. Besides the Death Troopers—who, you know, we would probably have noticed in the original trilogy if they had actually existed then—it has been heavily rumored that Rogue One will feature new retroactive designs for other Star Wars mainstays like the TIE Fighter as well. Could bigger reveals be in store, such as, say, the identity of Rey's parents? We'll see...

Maybe the biggest thing we can surmise from this batch of rumors, though, is that Disney is still playing it really close to the vest in terms of just how little the company is actually revealing. Given the success of The Force Awakens, which had a strident anti-spoiler policy, Disney probably figures it doesn't really need to hype the film much. And that's true: fans are already so hyped for Rogue One that it pretty much doesn't matter what's revealed in the run up to its theatrical debut, because everyone's going to go see it anyway. But still, we're begging you, Disney: give us more.

It doesn't matter that the enormous, four-legged Imperial Walkers, also known as AT-ATs, are probably the most impractical vehicles for fighting on the snowy plains of Hoth. They're cool, and we love them. As such, it's pretty exciting that one of the rumors about Rogue One claims that AT-ATs will be back for more quadrupedal action. What harsh environments will they be ridiculously un-suited for next? Swamps? The inside of a volcano? Better yet, why not just send the walkers into space directly?