With the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens finally released, and now soon coming to DVD/BluRay, one might think there would be at least a two year lull before the next installment in the franchise. Well, they'd be wrong! With Disney now owning the film rights to Star Wars they have begun the churning whirlwind engine of expanding beyond the main three trilogies, exploring standalone stories/adventures tied into the universe (Star Wars Cinematic Universe — SWCU?)

I believe the goal is to release one movie based on the Star Wars Cinematic Universe each and every year. The first of which being Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. I'm not exactly sure about the whole "A Star Wars Story" business, but it is what it is. I knew this movie was coming, but I never kept track of news and information. Now that the teaser trailer has been released, I'm extremely excited about it!

The story centers around the group of rebels who are tasked with infiltrating and stealing the schematics for the first Death Star. This places the movie between Star Wars: Episode III and Star Wars: Episode IV. I feel this is an interesting choice for the first foray of a standalone feature film. Is Darth Vader going to make an appearance? Princess Leia? I find myself both trying to remember if it was ever mentioned in A New Hope if those who recovered the schematics survived and avoiding the urge to watch and/or look anything up online to find out. May as well be surprised while I can!

I don't believe I know many of the actors outside of Forest Whitaker (Lee Daniels' The Butler, The Last King of Scotland) and Donnie Yen (Hero, IP Man). And I guess Alan Tudyk (Con Man, Firefly). It's been a while since I've seen any of them in a feature film, but I'm looking forward to their performances. I've no doubt that this will end up another blockbuster. We'll find out in time if the franchise becomes over-saturated with quantity over quality.

The teaser trailer is great, leaving me wanting more! I can't wait for the full trailer release!

Are you excited for Rogue One? What is your opinion of Disney releasing a Star Wars movie every year, especially the spinoffs and standalone stories? What are you most looking forward to in the new Star Wars Cinematic Universe?