First image of ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ resistance fighters

The resistance is on.

Lucasfilm revealed a first look at “Star Wars: Rogue One’s� cast of resistance fighters during Disney’s live-action movie presentation at the D23 Expo on Saturday. The announcement included news that the film has begun principal photography.

Led by actress Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything�), the rest of the announced “Rogue One� cast includes Diego Luna (“Milk�), Ben Mendelsohn (“Bloodline�), Donnie Yen (“Ip Man�), Jiang Wen (“Let the Bullets Fly�), Forest Whitaker (“Lee Daniels’ The Butler�), Mads Mikkelsen (“Casino Royale�), Alan Tudyk (“Con Man�) -- who will play a performance-capture character in the film -- and Riz Ahmed (“Nightcrawler�).

FULL COVERAGE: D23 EXPO

The first of the announced “Star Wars� standalone films, “Rogue One� tells the story of resistance fighters who have banded together to steal the plans for the infamous Death Star.

“‘Rogue One’ takes place before the events of ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ and will be a departure from the saga films,� said Lucasfilm President and “Rogue One� producer Kathleen Kennedy in a statement. “It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential ‘Star Wars’ feel that fans have come to know.�

The film, directed by Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla�) is set for a Dec. 16, 2016 release.

Twitter: @tracycbrown