Here's the official synopsis for
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story from Disney and Lucasfilm. Perhaps the most interesting thing is the fact that Gareth Edwards is still listed as the sole director, despite the fact that Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy, Michael Clayton) directed five weeks of reshoots (which were rumored to change the ending) and is currently taking the lead in the editor's room, though Edwards does have some input.
On the surface, the pairing appears to be collaborative, especially when one considers the fact that Gilroy previously assisted Edwards on
Godzilla. In fact, Gilroy has a history of helping out troubled productions as he also assisted Frank Marshall (Kathleen Kennedy's husband) on 2002's
The Bounre Identity after Marshall fired Doug Liman and took over post-production.
From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens in U.S. theaters on December 16, 2016.