'Rogue One' and IMAX: A New 'Star Wars' Featurette

The chaos of war, alien planets and a looming Death Star draw "Rogue One" viewers into the "Star Wars" universe — especially on IMAX. In a new video, the director and cast of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" discuss the making of the film and what it's like to view it in an IMAX theater.

"Rogue One" — which Michael Doran, editor of Space.com's sister site Newsarama, called "maybe the best 'Star Wars' story ever" — centers around a group of rebels stealing the plans for the Death Star in the familiar "Star Wars" universe. It's the first "Star Wars" film to exist outside the main trilogies; Disney plans to make more movies to fill out the "Star Wars" universe. ["Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" in Pictures]

The filmmakers used that separation from the main movies as an opportunity to explore a different tone. In the video, the film's director, Gareth Edwards, explained that they aimed for a grittier, more realistic feel than in the previous stories. That led to an immersive war movie that features familiar "Star Wars" landmarks but through a distinct lens.

Viewers are totally immersed in the vivid world of the movie with the theater's oversize screen and precision surround sound, the stars of "Rogue One" said of their experience of watching the movie in IMAX. [In Images: Filming IMAX Movies in Space]

"It's going to be beautifully overwhelming," Ben Mendelsohn, who plays the film's antagonist, Director Orson Krennic, said in the video.

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.