The cast and crew of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" bring fans to the tropical planet Scarif in this new behind-the-scenes featurette.

"You look at 'Star Wars,' and classically each planet is its own ecosystem," director Gareth Edwards says. "Tatooine was a desert planet, Hoth is a ice planet, but there's never really been a paradise planet."

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Of course, the Rebels might quibble with the characterization of Scarif as a "paradise," as the planet houses a major military installation that serves as the principal construction facility for the Empire's war machine.

The Republic of Maldives, an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, stood in for Scarif, providing the cast and crew with their own tropical paradise. "We're just here because Alan [Tudyk] loves scuba diving," Diego Luna jokes, "and I come from a tropical country."

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Set just prior to the events of 1977's "Star Wars," "Rogue One" centers on a ragtag group of Rebels that undertakes a dangerous mission to steal the design plans for the Galactic Empire's new planet-destroying superweapon, the Death Star.

Opening Dec. 15 in the United Kingdom and Dec. 16 in the United States, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker.