'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' May Feature Two More Familiar Faces

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was all about rekindling your love for the Star Wars saga by embracing the familiar and the nostalgic, but Rogue One: A Star Wars Story seems to be all about taking a hard left turn. We already know that the film will feature a different tone from the main episodes and it probably won't even feature an opening title crawl. This is Star Wars' chance to get weird and be different and director Gareth Edwards certainly appears to be embracing that.

And yet, that doesn't mean he can't include the occasional callback or include a recognizable cameo. If a little bit of internet detective work is to be believed, Rogue One will feature small appearances from characters who will be more than a little familiar to seasoned Star Wars fans. Naturally, potential spoilers lurk below, so proceed with caution.

When I went through the Rogue One sizzle reel that premiered at Star Wars Celebration last week and wrote a frame-by-frame breakdown, I was so distracted by the apparent presence of Jan Dodonna in one shot that I missed another Rebel leader in the same frame. He's obscured by a camera, but that cloak and that goatee practically give him away. Yep, that certainly appears to be Senator Bail Organa meeting with General Dodonna and Mon Motha in the Rebel base on Yavin IV:

Organa is, of course, the adopted father of Princess Leia Organa and a devotee to the Rebel cause. He was originally played by Jimmy Smits in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and was voiced by Phil LeMarr in eight episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and two episodes of Star Wars Rebels. It's not clear if that is Smits in the image above, but that would certainly be a nice touch. In any case, it would make sense for him to be involved in the mission to steal the Death Star plans, especially since his daughter would later be recruited to transport them and he would ultimately perish when the Imperial super-weapon fired upon Alderaan.

The second potential cameo is a little more far-fetched and despite being a character of far lesser importance, may actually be recognized by more people. The Star Wars Post reports that Dr. Cornelius Evazan is listed amongst the credits of an unnamed actor who appeared in Rogue One. That's shaky and you should take this will as much salt as you can get your hands on, but it's certainly interesting. Even if you don't know that name, you know Dr. Evazan's face. He's this guy:

You know, the surly guy who gets his arm chopped by Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber in the original 1977 Star Wars. The Star Wars Post even claims you can see him during the Rogue One sizzle reel, hanging out with his alien companion Ponda Babba in the middle of the shot:

I'm not convinced quite yet, but it certainly looks like it could be him, especially since the wardrobes of bother characters line up. If this is the case, this could be a cute cameo or it could be the kind of not-s0-subtle nudge that accidentally breaks a rib. We shall see.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens on December 16, 2016.