'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Released 24 Hours Ahead in UK, Asia, Than US; Tie-In Novel ‘Catalyst’ Due This November

After Walt Disney's $4B acquisition of Lucasfilm and the "Star Wars" franchise in 2012, fans are all waiting for the release of its first independent anthology movie entitled "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" in theaters across the globe.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," inspired by visual effects supervisor John Knoll, is expected to be released in at least 52 countries worldwide this December. Unfortunately, for fans in the United States and other places such as New Zealand and Spain, the wait will have to extend until December 16.

For Asia, the United Kingdom, and select European countries, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" will be released a day earlier. To add more envy to injury, Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Sweden, and Taiwan will have their glimpse of the first standalone "Star Wars" anthology on December 14, 48 hours before its release in the United States.

On Twitter, Star Wars UK announced on October 24, "Stay on target! #RogueOne blasts into UK cinemas on December 15."

Stay on target! #RogueOne blasts into UK cinemas on December 15. All wings report in... pic.twitter.com/H0UYXRwNJ8

— Star Wars UK (@StarWarsUK) October 23, 2016

The same scheme happened with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which will celebrate its first anniversary also in December. While their fans in the United States and most countries anticipate a fresh viewing experience, other enthusiasts across the globe and the Internet were already leaking storylines and spoilers online.

American fans may have to wait longer, but as the film director Gareth Edwards said in an earlier interview on Entertainment Tonight in July, "And so the honest answer is you'll have to wait and see."

While we hope spoilers won't flood the net while we're waiting for the movie, we can instead devote time to reading "Catalyst: A Rogue One Story," a tie-in novel for "Rogue One" set for release in November. "Star Wars" novelist James Luceno wrote the book himself, providing a backstory to the much-anticipated film.