Lucasfilm President Addresses Rogue One Reshoot Rumors

Ignore the rumors: Lucasfilm pres says ‘Rogue One’ reshoots won’t alter character of film

rogue one reshoots kathleen kennedy star wars trailer breakdown 0001 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Rumors about Rogue One have been flying faster than Han Solo on The Kessel Run. First, we heard the film was undergoing reshoots to add a little more levity into the mix; then we heard that up to 40 percent of the film needed reshooting after poor test screenings; then we heard that screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie would be on set to oversee reshoots; and now — it looks like very little (if any) of this is true.

The only thing that seems safe to say at this point is that reshoots are, in fact, taking place. A report from Entertainment Weekly, however, suggests that they won’t look to change the film’s story or even its tone, the latter of which was wildly speculated online.

Said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, “there’s nothing about the story that’s changing, with a few things that we’re picking up in additional photography. I think that’s the most important thing, to reassure fans that it’s the movie we intended to make.” She went on to add “One of the things we’re doing with these Star Wars stories is embracing the uniqueness of the different genres, and we’re very deliberately leaning into the various styles of directors that we’re approaching so that each of these movies will very intentionally have a very different tone and style from the saga films.”

Well, there you have it. Straight from the horse’s mouth.

It’s rare that we get such a clear cut and direct answer to anything Star Wars-related and we’re inclined to take Kennedy at her word. If the rumors really are true, better to be silent than lie and compound the problem.

It’s nice to have a little clarity and this feels like good news to us, since many fans found the dark/intense tone of the trailer captivating. Rogue One represents something new in the Star Wars film universe, it makes sense that it should feel different from the original saga.

In short: It looks like the massive amount of media attention this project is getting created a good old fashioned tempest in a teapot. Said director Gareth Edwards “It’s funny, making a film stops you believing anything you’ve ever read on the internet.”

Rogue One is still scheduled to hit theaters December 16, 2016. The film stars Ben Mendelsohn, Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, and Forest Whitaker.

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