'Star Wars' fans get early Christmas gift with 'Rogue One'

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, fans had to wait years between "Star Wars" movies but the space saga is back with the most hotly-anticipated spin-off in cinema history.

Just 12 months after "The Force Awakens" shattered numerous box office records, Lucasfilm is unleashing "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" as an early Christmas gift for its millions of devotees.

With just over a week to go before its Dec. 16 U.S. release, excitement is building for the eighth installment in George Lucas's sci-fi saga, which recorded the second-highest first day of domestic pre-sales ever )behind "The Force Awakens").

The job of building on Lucas's legacy falls to British filmmaker Gareth Edwards, who recalled the nerve-jangling moment when the legendary director called him to deliver his verdict on the film after a preview screening.  

"I don't want to put words into his mouth but I can honestly say that I can die happy now," Edwards said as he relived last week's telephone conversation with Lucas, one of the most financially successful filmmakers in history.

Edwards, addressing the world's media at Industrial Light and Magic, Lucasfilm's special effects studio in San Francisco, described how it was the one green light he could not live without.

"To be honest and no offense to anyone here it was the most important review to me, what George thought of it. You know, you guys are important too, but come on he's kind of God," he told a room of critics.

"Rogue One" is part of an attempt to revitalize the franchise since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, when it was still reeling from grim reviews for the much-maligned 1999-2005 prequel trilogy.

The idea was to bring out a sequel trilogy with a movie every other...