Boy the rumor mill sure turned onRogue One: A Star Wars Storyfast, didn’t it? Just a month afterthe first trailerfor Lucasfilm’s firstStar Warsstandalone/anthology film wowed audiences with directorGareth Edwards’ striking vision for the pre-A New Hope-set story, word surfaced thatRogue Oneis heading into some reshoots this summer—possibly of a significant amount. Reshoots are par for the course for every single blockbuster nowadays, and they’re usually even built into the budget. When you get into the editing room on a $150+ million film, you may find areas of the movie that could use improvement or increased clarity, and with a major Hollywood studio at your disposal, whynottake advantage of the opportunity to tighten things up?
But the rumors surrounding these reshoots took yet another turn last night, when an unfounded report claimed thatMission: Impossible – Rogue Nationwriter/directorChristopher McQuarrie—who reportedlydid some workon theRogue Onescript—was “taking over” theRogue Onereshoots. This report immediately didn’t pass the sniff test when it first claimed that Lucasfilm went toJ.J. Abramsto take over before moving on to McQuarrie after Abrams declined. None of this made a lick of sense, and indeed McQuarrie took the rumors head-on last nighton Twitterand gave the following statement to/Film:
“If there are any reshoots onRogue One, I’m not supervising them. For any outlet to say so is not only wrong, it’s irresponsible. Gareth Edwards is a talented filmmaker who deserves the benefit of the doubt. Making a film – let alone aStar Warschapter – is hard enough without the internet trying to deliberately downgrade one’s years of hard work. Who does that even serve? Let him make his movie in peace.”
Edwards more than proved his talent as a filmmaker withMonstersandGodzilla, and with the latter showed that he can handle a massive blockbuster property. So I have trouble believing that he’s being pushed aside in what is most likely just a simple case of refining the vision of the film with some additional photography. Other movies that underwent reshoots, some significant, includeCaptain America: Civil War,World War Z, and oh yeah,Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so to immediately assert that this is cause for alarm is straight up wrong. The most recent reports suggest that the reshootshave to do with the film’s tone, which makes sense—although hopefully Edwards' “ground-level” vision for this particularStar Warsstory remains intact.
McQuarrie, meanwhile, ispreparing to direct the nextMission: Impossibleinstallment, which is poised to begin filming later this year, andRogue Oneis still on track to open in theaters on December 16th.
