The burning questions we have about the new stars of Star Wars: Rogue One

This Christmas, a new Star Wars film arrives. But don’t expect it to pick up the story of Rey, Finn and BB-8. No, we have to wait until 18 months before Episode VIII (the next episode of the Star Wars 'saga series') hits Cineworld...

This December, Rogue One gives us untold story of how the Death Star plans were stolen, meaning that this movie takes place just before the very first Star Wars film from 1977. Got it? The movie is still shrouded in secrecy, but the release of the first trailer a month ago only got us asking MORE questions. Who’s the guy in the white cape? Is Felicity Jones’s character actually Rey’s mother? Let’s take a closer look at the Rogue One universe...

Jyn Erso

Played by Felicity Jones, Jyn Erso is the lead of Rogue One and instrumental in the theft of the plans for the Death Star. But who is she? "On your own from the age of 15," Mon Mothma says of her in the trailer. "Reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined." It’s also said she has a rap sheet that includes forgery of Imperial documents, possession of stolen property, aggravated assault, and resisting arrest.

But does she have any bigger significance in the Star Wars universe? Could she be the mother of Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Rey? The latter's parentage is certainly a mystery, and maybe the answer to the question isn’t to be found in the ‘saga’ films. Might Jyn Erso be making a reappearance (with Felicity Jones made up to look 30-plus years older) in one of the future Star Wars films?

The guy in the white cape

Okay, we know it’s terrific character actor Ben Mendelsohn from the likes of Starred Up and Slow West (though he does look a lot like Gary Oldman in the trailer), but who’s he playing? We’ve seen the uniform before, in the meeting room from the first Star Wars movie, so we know he’s a high-ranking Imperial officer, but what’s his job and his relationship to the Death Star?

Forest Whitaker’s character

We don’t have a name yet for Forest Whitaker’s character, who we glimpsed in the trailer looking very determined. He doesn’t look like anyone with any Imperial sympathies, but then again he doesn’t look like your typical Rebellion fighter. Is he some aged warrior or retired Jedi? Whoever he's playing, the presence of an Oscar winner in the new Star Wars cast is not a bad thing.

Donnie Yen

The martial artist looks set to be doing what he does best in Rogue One. He can be seen in the trailer wielding some kind of sword (a first for the Star Wars universe) and seeing off an unfortunate Stormtrooper. What’s clear is that he is a part of Jyn Erso’s band of outlaws who are commanded to steal the plans for the Death Star.

Diego Luna’s Rebel pilot

From his uniform, we’re deducing that Luna’s character is a pilot for the Rebellion (nerd alert: you can tell from looking carefully at his badge in the shot below that displays his rank as two vertical dots). Plus, he totally emits that badass aura that goes with the role.

The guy in the black cape

OK, this is the chap that we really want to find out more about. With speculation raging that the figure might be the one and only Darth Vader (the helmet and cloak certainly seem to match), we're intrigued by the presence of the red-suited Imperial guards on either side. Given they were in the employ of the evil Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi, are we in fact witnessing a scene within the Emperor's throne room? And what does the mean for the identity of the person in question? Is this another of the Emperor's evil disciplines to whom we haven't yet been introduced?