ROGUE TROOPER Teaser Trailer Gives Us a Glimpse of Duncan Jones’ Next Sci-Fi Adventure
After years in development, we finally have a first real look at director Duncan Jones’ Rogue Trooper. The UK comic powerhouse 2000 AD has released a teaser trailer for the long-anticipated animated adaptation, and while it’s brief, it’s enough to show that something pretty cool is taking shape.
This in Jones’ first project since Mute hit Netflix back in 2018. This time around, he’s diving back into sci-fi territory with a fully animated feature built entirely using Unreal Engine 5.
That technical ambition is a big reason this one has taken so long to get here. Producer Stuart Fenegan explained, "figuring out a new way of making a CG movie takes a while."
Based on the classic British comic created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, the story centers on Rogue, played by Aneurin Barnard, a genetically engineered blue-skinned soldier known as a Genetic Infantryman.
He’s the lone survivor of a catastrophic mission and is on a relentless hunt for the Traitor General who sold out his squad. But Rogue isn’t exactly alone. His fallen teammates live on in a unique way, their personalities embedded into his gear.
Gunnar, voiced by Jack Lowden, is stored in his gun. Helm, voiced by Daryl McCormack, lives in his helmet. Bagman, voiced by Reece Shearsmith, rides along in his backpack. It’s a strange but awesome concept that fans of the comic have loved for years.
The cast also includes Hayley Atwell, Diane Morgan, Alice Lowe, Asa Butterfield, and Sean Bean.
Jones has had a personal connection to this story for a long time, and it actually shaped how he sees the characters. He shared:
"Rogue Trooper was always the one that felt most appealing to me. It’s funny, when I was in school, I was a big fan of Plato’s Republic and the tripartite division of the soul between the head, the stomach, and the heart.
“And I always read Rogue Trooper thinking of that division of the soul, with the characters of Bagman, Gunnar and Helm. And when we started making the film, I finally had the opportunity to talk to the authors and ask them if that had been in their thinking. Obviously, it wasn’t. [Laughs.] It wasn’t at all! but it meant something to me."
That perspective adds a cool layer to the concept. Even if it wasn’t intentional, it gives Rogue’s relationship with his squadmates a deeper emotional edge.
Jones is no stranger to sci-fi storytelling, having directed Moon, Source Code, and Warcraft, and you can feel that experience bleeding into this project already. The teaser doesn’t reveal much, but the visual style and tone suggest something gritty, strange, and very much in line with the comic’s DNA.
Right now, Rogue Trooper is still looking for distribution, so there’s no release date locked in yet. But after all this time, it’s just good to see some actual. If this teaser is any indication, this could end up being a pretty awesome adaptation.
I’m definitely ready to see more.