Research scientist Galen Erso and his family are in hiding on the planet Lah'mu when Imperial weapons developer Orson Krennic arrives to press him into completing the Death Star, a superweapon capable of destroying planets. Galen's wife Lyra is killed in the confrontation while their daughter Jyn escapes and is rescued by Rebel extremist Saw Gerrera.
Fifteen years later, cargo pilot Bodhi Rook defects from the Empire, taking a holographic message from Galen to Saw on the moon Jedha. Rebel Alliance intelligence officer Cassian Andor learns of the Death Star and Bodhi's defection from an informant at Kafrene. Jyn is freed from an Imperial labor camp on Wobani and is brought to the Rebels' base on Yavin 4, where Rebel leader Mon Mothma convinces her to find Galen so the Alliance can learn more about the superweapon. Cassian is covertly ordered to aid Jyn but to kill Galen rather than extract him.
Jyn, Cassian, and reprogrammed former Imperial droid K-2SO travel to Jedha, where the Empire loots kyber crystals to power the Death Star. In Jedha City, Saw and his partisans are engaged in an armed insurgency against the Empire, and Jyn and Cassian get caught in the crossfire. Aided by blind spiritual warrior Chirrut Îmwe and his mercenary friend Baze Malbus, Jyn makes contact with Saw, who is holding Bodhi. Saw shows her the message in which Galen reveals he has secretly built a vulnerability into the Death Star. The schematics are located in an Imperial data vault on the planet Scarif.
Onboard the Death Star, Krennic orders a test-fire, which destroys Jedha City. Jyn and her group take Bodhi and flee the moon, but accidentally leave Galen's message behind. Saw chooses to stay behind and dies in the explosion. Imperial governor Grand Moff Tarkin congratulates Krennic before using Bodhi's defection as a pretext to take control of the Death Star. Bodhi leads the group to Galen's Imperial research facility on the planet Eadu, where Cassian hesitates to kill Galen. Rebel bombers then attack the facility; Galen is wounded and dies in Jyn's arms before she escapes with her group on a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle. Krennic is summoned by Darth Vader to answer for the attack on Jedha City. Krennic seeks his support for an audience with the Emperor, but Vader instead Force-chokes him to ensure no further problems occur.
Jyn proposes a mission to steal the Death Star schematics, but the Alliance Council feels there is no chance of victory. Frustrated at their inaction, Jyn's group leads a small squad of volunteers to raid the vault using the stolen Imperial shuttle, which Bodhi dubs "Rogue One." They gain entry through the planet's shield, and Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO infiltrate the base while the others attack the Imperial garrison as a diversion.
The Alliance learns of the raid from intercepted Imperial communications and deploys the fleet in support, engaging in a space battle against the Imperial forces. K-2SO sacrifices himself so Jyn and Cassian can retrieve the data. Chirrut is killed after activating the switch to allow communication with the Rebel fleet, and Baze is killed shortly afterward. Bodhi is killed by a grenade after informing the Rebel fleet that it must deactivate the planetary shield to let the plans be transmitted. Rebel Admiral Raddus uses an Alliance ship to crash two Imperial Star Destroyers into each other; the wreckage destroys the shield generator. Jyn obtains the plans but is ambushed by Krennic, who is shot and wounded by Cassian. Jyn transmits the plans to the Rebel command ship moments before the Death Star arrives above Scarif. Tarkin then orders the Death Star to destroy the citadel; Krennic is vaporized by the demolition beam, while Jyn and Cassian find themselves unable to escape the explosion, and embrace as they are killed in the ensuing shockwave.
The Rebel fleet begins to jump to hyperspace; however, many ships are intercepted by Darth Vader's Star Destroyer. Vader boards the Rebel command ship and slaughters many troops in an attempt to reclaim the plans, but a smaller ship escapes with them. Aboard the fleeing ship preparing to enter hyperspace, Princess Leia Organa declares that the plans will bring hope for the Rebellion.
In 2003, during the production of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in Sydney, John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for all three prequels, pitched an episode for the unproduced series Star Wars: Underworld. At the time, he had written a short treatment called "Destroyer of Worlds". After the Disney acquisition he felt as though he had to pitch it again or forever wonder "what might've happened if I had." In May 2014, Disney announced that Gareth Edwards would direct the film and that Gary Whitta would write the script.
Reception
Rogue One grossed $534.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $523.9 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $1.059 billion. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $319.6 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participation, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it third on their list of 2016's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".
In late November 2016, box office projections for the United States and Canada had the film grossing $100–150 million during its opening weekend.
Tarkin: Most unfortunate about the security breach on Jedha, Director Krennic. After so many setbacks and delays, and now this. [turns to face Krennic] We've heard word of rumors circulating through the city. Apparently…
