'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' director talks about making the movie

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- ABC7 News' Jonathan Bloom sat down with the director and the cast to talk about the force and the making of "Star Wars" magic.

Not just the world, but a galaxy far, far away."I remember the first day that I showed up to start shooting, just hundreds of Storm Troopers stood there on set and it's just you know, you're in your childhood fantasy," Riz Ahmed said.

RELATED: See the final trailer for 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'

Ahmed grew up a "Star Wars fan and never dreamed he'd get to play an imperial pilot, defecting to the rebellion.

But the biggest fan on set was almost certainly Director Gareth Edwards. "As a kid I thought the world was full of Storm Troopers and X Wings before I realized it was full of cars and guys in suits," he said.

Of course, "Star Wars" has one guy in a suit. "Being on set with Darth Vader is hard to beat," Edwards said.

He may be the best known bad guy of all time.

For one star of the movie, it even brought back childhood nightmares. "Every time I go to bed, he kind of comes back to me and talks to me at night, it's quite scary," Diego Luna said.

RELATED: Watch full interviews with the cast and Director Gareth Edwards

Rogue One is the first live action Star Wars movie that's not part of the main saga. Alongside the seven episodes that came before it, you might say this film is the "Rogue One."

It's the story of what happened between "Star Wars" episodes three and four and the characters are new. "111 like all Star Wars films, it's about a parent-child relationship," Felicity Jones said.

First seen as a little girl, Jyn Erso grows up to be the fierce heroine played by Jones. "I got the call and I was like that's great, but I think I'm going to have to start going to the gym," Jones said.

It's a highly physical role and so is the one played by martial artist Donnie Yen.

What's even more impressive is his character is blind. "He's not a Jedi, he's human and then he's connected to The Force," Yen said.

It's part of a grittier vision of that far away galaxy where good and evil are not so clearly defined. "I think they don't discuss it as good and evil, they discuss it as are we doing the right thing or are we not?" Mads Mikkelsen said.

"Yeah, and from Krennic's point of view, we very much are doing the right thing," "Orson Krennic" Director Ben Mendelsohn said.

Krennic is the villain we meet in the first scene of a film whose cast may be the most diverse in "Star Wars" history.

"Audiences are asking and shouting to be represented on screen. And it's happening. I'm proud to be part of that," Luna said.