Star Wars: Rogue One - Predicting Who Lives And Who Dies

A lot's been made how Rogue One is going to be a different Star Wars movie. It's a standalone film, an offshoot prequel with barely any of the iconic characters, few Force elements and a unique aesthetic. And, biggest of all, the fate of its heroes is unknown.

OK, yes, characters certainly can die in Star Wars, but in the main Saga Episodes it tends to be in massive, universe-shaking events that come with so much hype that, even ten months on I'm not sure if I can say Han Solo's killed by his son without whacking up a spoiler warning. With Rogue One we have a new ensemble of characters, none of whom who've been seen in any expanded material, making knowing who bites it impossible to know. No sequel is planned either, so there's not even the standard Hollywood safety net of multi-picture deals.

So much of the movie has been under wraps, but thanks to overanalysing the trailers and tidbits released we've been able to construct a pretty strong breakdown of the film, and now it's time to turn our eyes to those heroes. Who lives? And who dies? Let's find out.

Why He Could Live: Galen Erso is the reluctant architect of the Death Star's super laser, leading to many drawing parallels between The Manhattan Project's own J. Robert Oppenheimer. And to go full-Oppenheimer you need to have that regret build up after the true horrors of his creation have been revealed. There's also something poignant about the older generation living on.

Why He Could Die: Mads Mikkelsen hasn't been present in the marketing for Rogue One at all, bar a single still, and while that may point towards a secret key role, based on Mark Hamill and Max von Sydow from The Force Awakens it's more likely he's got a bit-part. And as this is daughter Jyn's story, that bit-part would make most sense as the deceased father figure.

Prediction: Is killed during the night-time assault seen in the last trailer, although he does manage to reveal where the Death Star is being held.