The Skywalker Saga Recap

Rouge One: A Star Wars Story Recap

    This story takes place about a week before A New Hope and tells about a group of rebels who band together to steal the Death Star plans, while also detailing the Rebel Alliance's first victory, which was referenced in A New Hope.

    Galen Erso is an Imperial research scientist hiding on the planet Lahmu with his wife Lyra and daughter Jyn. One day, Director Orson Krennic, an Imperial weapons developer, arrives and presses him into finishing the Death Star, a battle station capable of destroying entire planets. Lyra is killed while Jyn, who had seen the whole incident, manages to escape. She's eventually rescued and taken in by rebel extremist Saw Grrera.

    15 years later, former Imperial cargo pilot Bohdi Rook has defected from the Empire and arrives on the desert moon Jedha, taking with him a holographic message from Galen to Gererra. Cassian Andor, an intelligence officer in the rebellion, hears about the Death Star from an informant while Jyn is rescued from an Imperial labor camp in Wobani and is brought to Mon Mothma, the leader of the Rebellion, She convinces her to find and rescue Galen, who she hasn't seen in years, so that the Alliance can learn more about their plans. However, Cassian is secretly told to kill him instead.

    Along with reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO, Cassian and Jyn arrive at Jedha, where the Empire is removing kyber crystals (originally used to power a Jedi's lightsaber) to power the Death Star. Meanwhile, Gerrera's pardisains are engaged in an armed insurgency against them. With help from blind warrior Chirrut Imwe and his mercenary friend Baze Malbus, Jyn makes contact with Gerrera, who has a captive Rook. He shows her Galen's message, in which he reveals that he secretly built a flaw in the seemingly indestructible Death Star, directing them to receive the schematics from an Imperial data bank on Scarif. While this is going on, Krennic orders a low-power blast on Jedha, which destroys the capital. Jyn and her group get Rook and manage to escape the destruction while Gerrera dies with the city.

    Grand Moff Tarkin congratulates Krennic on the demonstration before using Rook's defection and security leak as a pretext to take over the project. Rook leads the group to Galen's research on the rainy planet of Eadu. There, Galen chooses not to kill Galen and Jyn makes her presence known moments before Rebel bombers arrive and destroy the facility, starting a fight. Galen is fatally injured by the bombers, but is able to reunite with his daughter before he passes on. Jyn and her group are able to escape the planet on a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle. Meanwhile, Krennic arrives on Mustafar, having been summoned by Darth Vader to answer for the Death Star's destruction on Jedha City. Krennic seeks his support for an audience with the Emperor, only for Vader to Force-choke him to ensure no further breaches occur.

    Back at Yavin 4, Jyn proposes a plan to steal the Death Star plans, but she fails to gain approval from the Alliance Council, who now believe victory is impossible. Fustarated by their inaction, Jyn's group leads a small squad of Rebel fighters to raid the data themselves. Dubbing themselves as "Rouge One", they arrive on Scarif in the stolen Imperial ship. A disguised Cassian and Jyn enter the base with K-2SO while the others create a diversion. The Alliance hears of the raid due to intercepted Imperial communications and deploy their fleet in support, revealing their full might to the Empire, and an intense fight ensues in space above the planet.

    However, the heroes die one by one. K-2SO sacrifices himself so Jyn and Cassian can retrieve the data, which is codenamed "Stardust", a nickname that Galen had given his daughter. Imwe is killed after turning on the master switch to allow communication with the Rebel fleet, and Malbus dies shortly afterwards in a final stand. Rook is killed by a grenade thrown in by a Stormtrooper after informing the Rebel fleet that it must deactivate the planetary shield to allow the plans' transmission. Upon hearing this, Rebel commander Admiral Raddus uses a Hammerhead corvette to destroy two Star Destroyers, and thes wreckage crashes on top of the shield generator, punching a hole in the shield. Jyn and Cassian retrieve the plans, but are ambushed by Krennic. Cassian manages to shoot and wound him. Jyn transmits the plans to the Rebel command ship, just as the Death Star enters orbit. Tarkin has another low-energy shot destroy the compromised base, killing Krennic (the shot destroyed the top of the tower) and Jyn and Cassian (who embrace each other reassuringly as they're enveloped in a white light), along with all remaining Rebel and Imperial forces.