'Rogue One' news: Final trailer reveals Jyn's past, Darth Vader

"Rogue One" director Gareth Edwards has shot down a popular fan theory about a mysterious character in the upcoming "Star Wars" stand-alone film.

The previously-unnamed character played by "Cloud Atlas" actor Alistair Petrie was first seen in the first teaser for "Rogue One." In the film, Petrie plays a no-nonsense Rebel Alliance leader. He first caught fans' attention as he read off a list of Jyn Erso's (Felicity Jones) offenses in the first "Rogue One" trailer.

Because no one knew who this new character was, fans unsurprisingly started looking for connections elsewhere in the vast "Star Wars" franchise. They were looking for a notable character, someone playing an important role in a different part of the "Star Wars" universe. One popular fan theory was that Petrie is playing Agent Kallus, an Imperial defector in the "Star Wars: Rebels" animated series.

In "Star Wars: Rebels," Agent Kallus grew disillusioned with the Empire after learning more about the Rebels. "Star Wars" fans immediately zoned in on what they thought were physical similarities between Agent Kallus and Petrie, and deduced that the actor is likely playing an older version of Kallus in "Rogue One."

Edwards debunked this theory in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying that Petrie is playing an Alliance leader who simply hasn't been featured onscreen before.

"His name's General Draven," Edwards said.

"It's no official secret," he added. "Sometimes I read stuff online like it's this big thing that's been leaked, and I thought, 'Oh, I thought people knew that,'" he said.

Meanwhile, the third and final trailer for "Rogue One" recently dropped and it gave fans a deeper look into Jyn's backstory, glimpses of the "Star Wars" universe's new heroes, and even a cameo by Darth Vader himself.

The trailer showed Jyn as a child and revealed that her father, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), while absent from her life when she is older, was actually a loving parent. It also revealed that Galen was coerced into building the Death Star by the villain Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn).

In addition, the new trailer showed the "Rogue One" team coming together for the first time. The team, which is tasked with stealing the plans for the Death Star, includes Jyn, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen), Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), and Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed).

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" hits theaters on Dec. 16.