'Rogue One' trailer gives fans many reasons to be excited

Felicity Jones in Rogue One

The first teaser trailer for the new Star Wars film Rogue One has arrived -- and boy is it a doozy. It's probably blowing up the entire Internet as I write this and inspiring a cacophony of fanboy reaction both reasonable and absurd.

Sure, I am inclined to love almost everything Star Wars related at first glance (I haven't delved deep into the comic books or animated series, though) and look, the prequel trailers looked great too. So cautious optimism all around.

That said, I don't see how anyone couldn't be excited to see this story -- which should answer a lot of questions raised by Episode IV, a.k.a. A New Hope.

First off two apologies. Yes, this is my second Star Wars-related post in a row; sorry I am a nerd about this series, this and Bond. I can't help it. And I apologize to those who are profoundly confused by the timeline of these films. Blame George Lucas, not me.

Basically, as a nod to the serials from his youth, Lucas thought it would be cool to set up his original 1977 film as a fourth episode in what we were to presume was an ongoing series. He can pretend now that it was all part of a grand plan but there were no guarantees back then that Star Wars was going to become a global phenomenon. After parts V and VI, Lucas went back and made his godawful "prequel" trilogy, or episodes I-III, and then last year after 32 years of waiting, we got The Force Awakens, which picked up where we left off after Episode VI.

Rogue One is almost like the biggest budget sidebar of all time. It explains a crucial plot point that is alluded to in A New Hope, that some brave rebel pilots stole plans to the Death Star which Luke Skywalker and company would go on to obliterate. In this new film, Felicity Jones appears to be the leader of that squadron of heroes.

Whoever thought of this concept is brilliant, because it gives Star Wars fans an opportunity to revisit the world they know and love best -- the atmosphere of the originals. My only quibble is a small one: I thought it'd be cool if they actually intentionally made the film look more retro stylistically, so it would blend more seamlessly into the events of the original 1977 film.

Here are some of the many cool things about the teaser that immediately had me applauding:

The iconography is on point! - The uniforms! The walkers! So many easily identifiable artifacts that take me right back to the original trilogy. Sure, just like in The Force Awakens, a lot of this is blatant service to the fans. But when it's done this well, who can complain?

Women in charge! - Felicity Jones by far gets the most screen time of any of the characters in this new film, suggesting that she will be the driving force behind the narrative. Coming on the heels of The Force Awakens, which featured the breakout lead performance of Daisy Ridley as Rey, this is the second straight Star Wars film to really rely on a strong female protagonist.

Mon Mothma! - Speaking of strong women -- that has to be Mon Mothma giving Jones her assignment in this film. A bit character in Return of the Jedi, her backstory is a total mystery. She presents with great gravity the news that "many Bothans died" to provide the information on the second Death Star, but then she disappears, never heard from again. She has always been a curiosity to fans, and now it appears she will finally be fleshed out.

Forest Whitaker! - He has always struck me as one of these actors who has been consistently better than the material he's been given. But not only does he look and sound great in this trailer, he seems to have the potential to be another exciting new type of character we haven't quite seen before. You get enough of him to be drawn in but not too much that you feel overwhelmed.

Just a taste! - Whoever has been cutting the trailers for these new Star Wars films is a genius. They have been able to reveal so much without spoiling the films at all. I remember my only concern after watching The Force Awakens trailer was the movie seemed too deadly serious -- and boy, was I wrong -- but I also didn't feel like I had already experienced the movie's highlights when I watched the trailer, it still felt fresh and unexpected when I sat down and watched it.

Although it's made by another filmmaker, Rogue One seems to share that same DNA, which is jsut fine by me.