With “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” marking the first official spinoff from the ‘Star Wars‘ saga (guess we’re all pretending “Ewoks: The Battle for Endor” never happened), it presents an opportunity to break away from some of the trademarks of the franchise. And while no one should expect that this film will completely reinvent the wheel, it’ll be the first time you’ll be dropped into a galaxy far, far away without an opening crawl to set the stage. This has been rumored for a while now, but Kathleen Kennedy confirmed it recently and explained why the filmmakers went down that route.
READ MORE: What To Expect From The ‘Star Wars’ Spin-Offs, And Why They Might Be A Mistake
“We felt that’s so indicative of what those saga films are,” she told Variety. “Initially, we probably will begin the film in a way that is traditional, with just the title.”
The move makes a lot of sense. With more spinoffs coming that will take place before the main saga (such as the developing Han Solo movie), there’s no purpose in making narrative decisions now on what will unfold and how it will all connect. Leaving the opening crawl out on the spinoffs does allow for some flexibility in storytelling. And hey, after seven movies with a crawl, why not try something just a bit different (though it does seem like they are going with the title card right up front, as per usual).
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opens on December 16th. Check out the new Empire and Total Film covers for the movie below. 
