Rogue One photos introduce new planet, starships and more

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Rogue One.]

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story takes place before the events of Episode IV: A New Hope, and despite knowing how the future of the Star Wars franchise would look immediately after, the new film will introduce a series of new planets and vehicles.

Today, Entertainment Weekly unveiled some exclusive new details and first looks at what some of those ships and planets would look like, including Rebel leader Jyn Erso’s hideaway. The photos also introduce a new Rebel starship, the U-wing, and an entirely new space station.

The most interesting revelation that came out of the photos was the name of the planet that Jyn Erso, her father Galen and her mother disappeared to in an attempt to hide from the Empire. Galen Erso and Director Orson Krennic were close friends growing up, and as Krennic rose up through the ranks of the Empire, he enlisted Erso to help him build the Death Star. It appears that once Erso found out what they were building, he wanted nothing to do with the project, but Krennic wasn’t going to just let him leave. Lah’mu is the name of the deserted, heavily wooded area that the Ersos fled to in an attempt to remain hidden from the Deathtroopers Krennic sent.

Another cool revelation that came from the photos was the identification of another space station that sits just above the planet, Scarif. In the photo seen on Entertainment Weekly’s site, the X-Wing is shooting at a grey looking tube. This is called the Shield Gate, and it’s essentially a giant wall created out of energy to keep unwanted, nosy people away from the Empire’s secrets. Scarif, for those who may not remember, is the tropical planet which houses one of the Empire’s most important military complexes.

The last key bit of information to pick out of the lineup is the inclusion of a new starship, the U-wing. The Rebel starship is a combination of a Y-wing and an X-wing, with pieces of the Jedi Interceptor that was introduced in the prequel trilogy thrown into the mix. The U-wing has the cockpit of a Y-wing bomber, but the engines that power the ship are very similar to those used in the X-wings. The ship boasts a menacing body in a space gray color, and according to John Knoll, visual effects supervisor for Rogue One, was designed to feel similar to other ships fans have seen in previous films.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will premiere on Dec. 16, but there will definitely be more news, images and TV spots in the weeks ahead.