[Hey, don’t read this if you don’t want to know what the spoiler is. The word “spoiler” being in the headline, a disclaimer like this should be unnecessary, but here we are. Consider yourself warned, again. -Ed.]
Mads Mikkelsen is extending the “mercurial crusher of dreams” persona he spent years honing on Hannibal into the real world, off-handedly revealing a spoiler for the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story during a recent talk show appearance. To be fair, the Sky News host was pushing him for details, but come on: Mads Mikkelsen doesn’t tell you something unless it’s something Mads Mikkelsen wants you to know.
And in this case, what Mads Mikkelsen wants you to know is that he’s playing the father of Jyn Erso, Felicity Jones’ rule-hating Rebel spy, in the secretive spinoff. In the past, Mikkelsen has also told reporters that his role is “very important” to the story, and that he’s not playing an antagonist. But given the state of fatherhood in the Star Wars universe—and also the fact that he’s being played by Mads “Murder Husband” Mikkelsen—that claim is suddenly a little more difficult to believe.
Rogue One is currently set for a December 16, 2016 release date, nestled in between The Force Awakens and 2017’s Star Wars: Episode VIII. The plot—centered on efforts to acquire the plans to the original Death Star— is expected to take place between the prequel trilogy and the original Star Wars, and not (as Mikkelsen also said in the interview, because he is a smirking trickster god) “before anything you’ve ever seen in the Star Wars universe.”