History Heartwarming / RogueOne

** To expand, the novelization reveals that Krennic thinks "a senator from Naboo" tamed Vader. While he could easily be talking about Palpatine, that descriptor also applies to ''Padmé''; if so, it would explain why Vader wasn't giving Krennic any chances.
*** It could also apply to Jar-Jar.

!Meta
* Guy Henry only agreed to play Tarkin when he would be digitally replaced by Creator/PeterCushing's face because of his respect for the man.
** Also, Creator/PeterCushing really enjoyed his role as Tarkin in ''A New Hope'' and he had wished to came back in another Star Wars movie. With his face recreated on Henry, in a way, Cushing came back as Tarkin after all.
* Despite the [[BrokenBase divisive nature]] of the prequel films, Creator/JimmySmits was brought in to play Bail Organa again. He gets an entrance just as big and meaningful as any of the returning players from the original trilogy.
** Ditto for Creator/GenevieveOReilly who played Mon Mothma in ''Revenge of the Sith'' and came back for this movie. Her appearance is particularly sweet as the majority of her scenes in ''Revenge of the Sith'' were cut, reducing her to basically a cameo. The producers could have cast another actress to play the now twenty years older Mon Mothma but they chose to bring back O'Reilly.
** And it's good to see Drewe Henley and Angus [=MacInnes=] back in the cockpit as Red Leader and Gold Leader, respectively. These two [[AcePilot Ace Pilots]], appearing through unused ''ANH'' footage, ground us in a way no other characters truly can. James Earl Jones is doing his best, but it's been forty years; Peter Cushing is being resurrected via CGI; Bail Organa and Mon Mothma are played by their Prequel Trilogy actors, and though that makes total sense (it's been about 20 years both in RealLife and out), it's still not the real thing; even Leia is played by a body double with Creator/CarrieFisher's voice dubbed over. Red Leader and Gold Leader, along with the obligatory C-3P0 cameo, are the only characters who appear ''as they were'' (and/or will be) in Episode IV. We've had all the accoutrements, but it isn't until they drop out of hyperspace that we are truly seeing Star Wars.
* Creator/DiegoLuna has received a lot of praise from Hispanic and Latino moviegoers for not only being a major Latin American actor in a leading role in a franchise as big as Star Wars, but also using his natural Mexican accent, without comment from the narrative. Nobody in-story comments on his accent, or has trouble understanding him, or excuses it away, or treats him any differently from anybody else. One story, of a Mexican immigrant man who was stopped short by hearing his accent represented and normalized in Star Wars, went viral and even got picked up by mainstream media like [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/05/actor-diego-luna-kept-his-mexican-accent-in-star-wars-sending-a-powerful-message-to-latinos/ the Washington Post]] when Luna [[https://twitter.com/diegoluna_/status/816479341588709377 tweeted]] about it and brought it up during the press tour. As a result of the movie, that man, who had long encountered discrimination for his accent and gave up on improving his English after his attempts had been mocked, has started speaking English more often. Representation matters, everyone.
* The character of K-0HN (Kone) from the movie's [[AllThereInTheManual Visual Dictionary]]. He's a droid who works as a translator for deals that require discretion and shares his earnings with homeless children so they can eat. He hopes to someday purchase an upgrade that will allow him to [[ReligiousRobot understand spirituality]], but it seems he already understands it perfectly well.

* [[VitriolicBestBuds The relationship between Jyn and Kaytoo]]. When they first meet, they're very wary of each other and don't trust each other at all. Despite that, Jyn still steps in to shield him when Saw's men almost shoot him for being an Imperial droid, and by the end of the film, she hands over her blaster in a deliberate CallBack to the beginning (when he said he wanted a blaster and didn't trust her with one).

--->'''Bail:''' I must return to Alderaan. I must warn my people that there will be no peace. We will need every advantage.\\

'''Bail:''' He served me well during the Clone Wars...yes, I will send for him.\\
'''Mon Mothma:''' You will need to send someone you can trust.\\

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rogue_one_heartwarming.png]]

* We may not yet know the full canonical story, but it's safe to say that the fighter wing of Luke Skywalker, hero of the Rebellion and slayer of the Death Star, being named [[MeaningfulName Rogue Squadron]] had something to do with [[InMemoriam honoring the sacrifices of the Rogue One crew]].

* Fans of ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'' are sure to be extremely happy to know that not only does Hera survive to see a fully formed Rebel Alliance, but she is a ''General''.

** Missed the Ep IV title drop though ''A New Hope'' would have been even better

* First and most obviously: Rogue One gets its name due to a comm flub by Bodhi, who's an Imperial defector unaccustomed to the Rebellion's callsign patterns...which means that, while their memory will be carried forward, the leader of Rogue Squadron will always be "Rogue ''Leader"''. There will never be another Rogue One. That name will always be immortal.

** Ditto for Creator/GenevieveOReilly (who played Mon Mothma in ''Revenge of the Sith'' and came back). Her appearance is particularly sweet as the majority of her scenes in ''Revenge of the Sith'' were cut, reducing her to basically a cameo. The producers could have cast another actress to play the now twenty years older Mon Mothma but they chose to bring back O'Reilly.

* Creator/DiegoLuna has received a lot of praise from Hispanic and Latino moviegoers for not only being a major Latin American actor in a leading role in a franchise as big as Star Wars, but also using his natural Mexican accent, without comment from the narrative. Nobody in-story comments on his accent, or has trouble understanding him, or excuses it away, or treats him any differently from anybody else. One story, of a Mexican immigrant man who was stopped short by hearing his accent represented in Star Wars, went viral and even got picked up by mainstream media like [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/05/actor-diego-luna-kept-his-mexican-accent-in-star-wars-sending-a-powerful-message-to-latinos/ the Washington Post]] when Luna [[https://twitter.com/diegoluna_/status/816479341588709377 tweeted]] about it and brought it up during the press tour.

** Missed the Ep IV title drop though ''A New Hope''

** Ditto for Genevieve O'Reilly (who played Mon Mothma in ''Revenge of the Sith'' and came back). Her appearance is particularly sweet as the majority of her scenes in ''Revenge of the Sith'' were cut, reducing her to basically a cameo. The producers could have cast another actress to play the now twenty years older Mon Mothma but they chose to bring back O'Reilly.

* Creator/DiegoLuna has received a lot of praise from Hispanic and Latino moviegoers for not only being a major Latin American actor in a leading role in a franchise as big as Star Wars, but also using his natural Mexican accent, without comment. Nobody in-story comments on his accent, or has trouble understanding him, or alludes to whatever background must've given him the accent. One story, of a Mexican immigrant man who was stopped short by hearing his accent represented in Star Wars, went viral and even got picked up by mainstream media like [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/05/actor-diego-luna-kept-his-mexican-accent-in-star-wars-sending-a-powerful-message-to-latinos/ the Washington Post]] when Luna [[https://twitter.com/diegoluna_/status/816479341588709377 tweeted]] about it and brought it up during the press tour.

* Creator/DiegoLuna has received a lot of praise from Hispanic and Latino moviegoers for not only being a major Latin American actor in a leading role in a franchise as big as Star Wars, but also using his natural Mexican accent, without comment. Nobody in-story comments on his accent, or has trouble understanding him, or alludes to whatever background must've given him the accent. One story, of a Mexican immigrant man who was stopped short by hearing his accent represented in Star Wars, went viral and even got picked up by mainstream media when Luna [[https://twitter.com/diegoluna_/status/816479341588709377 tweeted]] about it and brought it up during the press tour.

* Meta example: Guy Henry only agreed to play Tarkin when he would be digitally replaced by [[Creator/PeterCushing Peter Cushing's face]] because of his respect for the man.
** Also, Creator/PeterCushing has really enjoyed his role as Tarkin in ''A New Hope'' and he had wished to came back in another Star Wars movie. With his face recreated on actor Guy Henry, in a way, Peter Cushing came back as Tarkin after all.
* Another meta one: despite the [[BrokenBase divisive nature]] of the prequel films, Creator/JimmySmits was brought in to play Bail Organa again. He gets an entrance just as big and meaningful as any of the returning players from the original trilogy.
** Ditto for Genevieve O'Reilly (who played Mon Mothma in ''Revenge of the Sith'' and came back). Her appearance is particularly sweet as the majority of her scenes in ''Revenge of the Sith'' were cut, reducing her to basically a cameo. The producers could have cast another actress to play the now twenty years older Mon Mothma but they chose to bring back O'Reilly.
** And it's good to see Drewe Henley and Angus [=MacInnes=] back in the cockpit as Red Leader and Gold Leader, respectively. These two [[AcePilot Ace Pilots]], appearing through unused ''ANH'' footage, ground us in a way no other characters truly can. James Earl Jones is doing his best, but it's been forty years; Peter Cushing is being resurrected via CGI; Bail Organa and Mon Mothma are played by their Prequel Trilogy actors, and though that makes total sense (it's been about 20 years both in RealLife and out), it's still not the real thing; even Leia is played by a body double with Creator/CarrieFisher's voice dubbed over. Red Leader and Gold Leader, along with the obligatory C-3P0 cameo, are the only characters who appear ''as they were'' (and/or will be) in Episode IV. We've had all the accoutrements, but it isn't until they drop out of hyperspace that we are truly seeing Star Wars.

-->'''Bail:''' I must return to Alderaan. I must warn my people that there will be no peace. We will need every advantage.\\

--> They hunted in sync, Chirrut always prowling near the rebels and Baze always prowling near Chirrut. Baze did not limit his targets to those who might spot the blind man, but he kept Chirrut under observation nonetheless; where the Force would fail Chirrut, Baze would not.

** Ditto for Genevieve O'Reilly (she played Mon Mothma in ''Revenge of the Sith'' and came back). Her appearance is particularly sweet as the majority of her scenes in ''Revenge of the Sith'' were cut, reducing her to basically a cameo. The producers could have cast another actress to play the now twenty years older Mon Mothma but they chose to bring back O'Reilly.
** And it's good to see Drewe Henley and Angus MacInnes back in the cockpit as Red Leader and Gold Leader, respectively. These two AcePilots, appearing through unused ''ANH'' footage, ground us in a way no other characters truly can. James Earl Jones is doing his best, but it's been forty years; Peter Cushing is being resurrected via CGI; Bail Organa and Mon Mothma are played by their Prequel Trilogy actors, and though that makes total sense (it's been about 20 years both in RealLife and out), it's still not the real thing; even Leia is played by a body double with Creator/CarrieFisher's voice dubbed over. Red Leader and Gold Leader, along with the obligatory C-3P0 cameo, are the only characters who appear ''as they were'' (and/or will be) in Episode IV. We've had all the accoutrements, but it isn't until they drop out of hyperspace that we are truly seeing Star Wars.

** Ditto for Genevieve O'Reilly (she played Mon Mothma in ''Revenge of the Sith'' and came back). Her appearance is particularly sweet as the majority of her scenes in ''Revenge of the Stih'' were cut, reducing her to basically a cameo. The producers could have cast another actress to play the now twenty years older Mon Mothma but they chose to bring back O'Reilly.

** Ditto for Genevieve O'Reilly (she played Mon Mothma in ''Revenge of the Sith'' and came back).

* Saw Gerrera, in contrast to the CyberneticsEatsYourSoul subtext of the main-series ''Star Wars'' films, remains one of the good guys to the end, ''despite'' being more machine than man.

* As the team leaves Eadu [[spoiler:after Galen's death]], Chirrut clasps Jyn's hand in a moment of silent comfort.

* The moment when [[spoiler: Bail Organa first appears onscreen combined with the score lend itself to a powerful moment, bridging both halves of the ''Star Wars'' saga.]]
** Then, later on, as the Rebel Council disbands, [[spoiler: Bail]] and Mon Mothma talk about the coming war:
-->'''[[spoiler:Bail:]]''' I must return to [[spoiler: Alderaan]]. I must warn my people that there will be no peace. We will need every advantage.\\
'''Mon Mothma:''' ''[takes him aside]'' Your friend, [[spoiler:the Jedi]]...\\
'''[[spoiler:Bail:]]''' He served me well during the Clone Wars...yes, I will send for him.\\

'''[[spoiler:Bail:]]''' ''[smiles as he walks off]'' I would trust [[spoiler:[[DaddysGirl her]] with my life.]]
* Saw Gerrera showing a weary happiness at seeing Jyn again, [[spoiler:since he essentially [[LikeASonToMe raised her]].]]

* [[spoiler:Baze dies in a LastStand against a squad of death troopers while reciting Chirrut's Force mantra, and lies tired and dying next to his best friend's body before an explosion also takes him out. [[PlatonicLifePartners The duo are]] TogetherInDeath.]]
* [[spoiler:As Kaytoo goes out, he encourages Jyn and Cassian not to give up, and [[YouShallNotPass seals the door to the room they're in, so that the Imperials can't reach them]].]]
* [[spoiler:Same goes for Jyn and Cassian. After they successfully transmit the plans, they're left stranded on Scarif, with the Death Star firing down not too far from their shore. As the light gets closer, the two of them hold hands and [[FinalFirstHug embrace each other in relief and reassurance that everything will be okay even after they're gone]] thanks to everyone's efforts. The fact that they died happy and together is even more sweet, considering all the carnage they've seen.]]
* Not long before that, [[spoiler:after Admiral Raddus's ship receives the Death Star plans and sees the Death Star obliterate the Imperial base on Scarif, wiping out whats left of Rogue One, he commends them all for their bravery and sacrifice.]]
-->[[spoiler:"Rogue One, may the Force be with you."]]
* Despite the [[BittersweetEnding ending]], [[spoiler:the sacrifice of the ''Rogue One'' protagonists]] was not in vain; the Death Star will be destroyed (albeit not before taking one more world with it), and it begins a domino effect leading to the fall of the Empire and eventual victory of the Rebel Alliance.

** Him standing up for her [[spoiler:when her RousingSpeech doesn't go over well]] with the council.
** [[spoiler:Demanding the fighters be called off when he sees her on the platform,]] only to rush in and save her himself.
** Finally, there's their [[spoiler:[[FinalFirstHug embrace]] as they're enveloped by the explosion caused by the Death Star]], which was preceded by them holding hands and an [[spoiler:implied kiss in the elevator]].

** There's a blink and you'll miss it moment when [[spoiler:''Rogue One'' is allowed entry into Scarif]], Jyn runs up to Cassian and looks like [[AlmostKiss she's about to kiss him]], [[TwiceShy only to chicken out at the last moment]] and go down below.

* [[spoiler: While mixed with TearJerker, Chirrut's death is almost a moment of heartwarming in and of itself as he steps out to reach the communications panel, repeating his mantra over and over as he walks right into the Deathtroopers' line of fire...and their shots ''continually fail to hit him'', the Guardian of the Whills escaping harm until his task is finished. While not a Jedi, for one brief moment, it seems like the Force really ''is'' with him.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Chirrut''': ''[[SurvivalMantra I am one with the Force/The Force is with Me/I am one with the Force/The Force is with Me]]...'']]

* When [[spoiler:the Rebellion decides not to send its fleet to Scarif, Jyn is dejected at their inaction. However, Cassian, Chirrut, Baze, Bodhi, K2, and a squad of Rebel commandos all volunteer to help her stage what is essentially an unsanctioned suicide mission, because quitting now would make [[AllForNothing all of the sacrifices the Rebellion has made meaningless]].]]
* Despite [[spoiler:the main Rebel leadership being unwilling to commit their fleet to attack Scarif, the moment they learn the Rogue One team is there, they don't hesitate to deploy to aid the attack. Admiral Raddus already unilaterally departed with his fleet, hot on Rogue One's tail (having been the "I say we stand and fight" voice among the Councilors), and the Yavin Fighter Wing felt compelled to saddle up as well after the previous two did.]]

* [[spoiler: It's a heartbreaking kind of heartwarming, but after enduring a living hell for so long and uncertain whether he'd ever see Jyn again, Galen is fatally wounded but is ''finally'' reunited with his daughter and dies in the arms of someone he loves.]]

** Which was also [[spoiler: the codename he used for the Death Star, pulling double duty as a MeaningfulName, as it could render planets into it, but it was also a way to signal which project was "his" for those that could stop it]].

* [[spoiler:The plans are successfully uploaded to the rebel flagship, and, in the nick of time, are given to Leia on board the ''Tantive IV''. She smiles at that ''huge'' breeze of hope the Rogue One commandos have just given to the Alliance and the galaxy as a whole, and the ship escapes.]]
-->'''[[spoiler: Captain Antilles]]:''' [[spoiler:Your Highness]]--the transmission we received. What is it that they’ve sent us?\\
'''[[spoiler:Leia Organa]]:''' ...''Hope''.