Summary
Rogue One: A Star Wars Storydirector Gareth Edwards addressed rumors concerning the situation behind the scenes of the critically acclaimed prequel film.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Storywas a direct prequel to the firstStar Warsfilm from 1977, with the new movie taking place just before the iconic opening sequence ofA New Hope. The film tells the story of the brave rebels who banded together to steal the Death Star plans alluded to in the franchise’s first-ever opening crawl, directly leading to the first substantial rebel victory against the First Galactic Empire. The film was a major success, justifying one of the biggest movie budgets ever, with over a billion in box office earnings and critical approval. Many laudedRogue Oneas the franchise’s first war film.
While it was a commercial success, theStar Warsfilm was supposedly plagued by interference, withmany seeingRogue One’s issues as a warning signfor what came afterward. In addition to reports of studio interference, there have been rumors about on-set tensions and the usurping of director Edwards' authority on set by Tony Gilroy, who joined the production after it had gotten well underway. In a recent interview withKCRWabout his new project,The Creator, the director addressed the rumors. “The stuff that is out there on the internet about what happened on that film — there is so much inaccuracy about the whole thing,” Edwards said. “Tony came in, and he did a lot of great work, for sure. No doubt about it. But we all worked together until the last minute of that movie.”
Edwards also expressed distaste about complaining about his experience onRogue One. “Someone who gets that opportunity to make a Star Wars film and then starts complaining about it, I don’t think many people have that much empathy for that kind of person. I so don’t want to be them. It was a dream come true. I’m proud of the movie we all made,” said Edwards. “What goes into Fight Club stays in Fight Club kind of thing. It’s like that. I just want to sound grateful for what happened and not talk negatively about anything.” Edwards had a few memorable experiences, including thehumorous way aRogue Oneplanet got its name.
The involvement of Gilroy, an award-winning writer andconfessedStar Warsnonadmirer, in the making ofRogue Oneand, more specifically, the extensive reshoots that took place in 2016 right before release, has been highly publicized and used as some smoking gun to show that he supplanted Edwards and became the film’s ghost director. Edwards' statements now seem to conclusively dispel these rumors or, at least, confirm he was never absent or ejected from the creative process.
WhileRogue Onewas always going to be a one-off, the spin-off seriesAndor,helmed by Gilroy, has seen quite a bit of success, being more accepted by the fanbase than the original film was.Andor’s early success meant a lot forStar Wars, and the current Disney Plus spectacle that isStar Wars: Ahsokahas benefited more than a little from that foundational success on the streamer. In the end, Edwards and Gilroy have earned their flowers in the franchise.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis currently available for streaming on Disney Plus.
