Death Stormtroopers, scene-stealing droids plus more Rogue One tidbits

When last we reported on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, there was a rumour that Darth Vader was going to be making a cameo appearance in the highly anticipated spin-off. While that hasn't been 100% confirmed by anyone associated with the film, a new report suggests that the popular villain will have much more screen time than we thought.

The news comes courtesy of JoBlo, who state that "we can confirm that Darth Vader will be in the film and is expected to have a larger role than originally thought," but stopped short of going into more detail on how involved the iconic character will be. That's not the only tidbit the site uncovered though; the article goes on to say that the rumours of stormtroopers in all-black outfits were accurate, adding that they will be referred to as "Death Troopers". This information jibes well with a photo Rogue One star Donnie Yen posted on his social media pages last year (and then quickly removed) - see below.

Also in the report is a claim that there will be a new TIE fighter design in addition to the classic AT-AT's, but the most intriguing detail in the article concerns a new "scene-stealing" droid who "has been repurposed to serve the rebel alliance" and may be being played by Alan Tudyk with the aid of mo-cap.

With BB-8 earning big laughs for his exceptional performance in The Force Awakens, it's no surprise that Gareth Edwards and co seem to be trying something similar for Rogue One. Here's hoping we'll get some confirmation on this new information when the first trailer for Rogue One is eventually unveiled.

Directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen and Alan Tudyk, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to open in UK and US cinemas on December 16, 2016.

Images: Disney/Donnie Yen

It’s the final week of our January sale and your last chance to save up to 58% when you subscribe to Total Film. Join us for a brilliant year at the movies.

Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for 12DOVE, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.

Latest in Star Wars Movies
The Rise of Skywalker
Despite those retirement reports, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is "very involved" in the Rey Star Wars movie, according to Daisy Ridley
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
After 26 years, a secret Star Wars reference to George Lucas has been uncovered: "We got a new Phantom Menace Easter Egg before GTA 6"
Liam Neeson in The Phantom Menace
"Wise mentor" or "awful Jedi"? Star Wars fans are debating if Qui-Gon Jinn is to blame for Anakin's turn to the dark side
Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Longlegs director pitches horrifying Star Wars movie with Darth Vader, and we want it to happen
Werner Herzog in The Mandalorian
Star Wars fans are sharing their favorite unbelievable canon cameos – and some of them are seriously deep-cut
Kathleen Kennedy standing with a bunch of Stormtroopers
Star Wars' Kathleen Kennedy debunks retirement reports, as she shares plans for the future of Lucasfilm: "I will die making movies"
Latest in News
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft guild cheats its way to winning Race for World First, gets caught, banned, then reverses its name and does it all over again
A AMD Ryzen 7 8700G being put into it's socket by a reviewer
AMD's new Ryzen 9 X3D processors launch today, here's the stock I've found so far
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
Deltarune
Undertale creator Toby Fox's tomfoolery leaves Deltarune testers thinking an intentional nerf was actually a bug after they "independently" discovered it
Pokemon Go player trying to catch a Croagunk
Pokemon Go developer Niantic is being bought for $3.5 billion, CEO says it'll help its games be "'forever games' that will endure for future generations"