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Star Wars: Rogue One Was In "Terrible Trouble" Before Reshoots, Writer Says
The critical and commercial success of 2016's Star Wars: Rogue One proved that there is life beyond the main Saga movies. However, in advance of its release, there had been rumors that the Gareth Edwards-directed movie was in trouble and need of extensive reshoots. Now writer/director Tony Gilroy, who was brought on board to oversee the movie's post-production process, has confirmed this.
Gilroy appeared on The Moment With Brian Koppelman podcast, and was asked about his experiences on Rogue One. The Gilroy explained that, unlike Edwards, he was not a Star Wars fan. "I've never been interested in Star Wars, ever," he said, via The Hollywood Reporter. "So I had no reverence for it whatsoever. I was unafraid about that. And they were in such a swamp. They were in so much terrible, terrible trouble that all you could do was improve their position."
Gilroy went on to suggest that his role in both rewriting the script and directing the reshoots was to help focus the story. "If you look at Rogue, all the difficulty with Rogue, all the confusion of it and all the mess... in the end when you get in there, it's actually very, very simple to solve," he said. "Because you sort of go, 'This is a movie where, folks, just look. Everyone is going to die.' So it's a movie about sacrifice."
Rumors about Rogue One's troubled production had been circulating as early as January 2016, eleven months before the film's release. Initially it was reported Mission: Impossible director Chris McQuarrie had been hired to help "save" the screenplay. Then in May, the story broke that Edwards' first cut had not tested well, and that weeks of expensive reshoots would be required.
In the recent interview, Gilroy confirmed that he was brought in at this stage. "I came in after the director's cut," he said. "I have a screenplay credit in the arbitration that was easily won." Both Edwards and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy downplayed the reshoots at the time.
The second Star Wars spin-off, Solo: A Star Wars Story, has also had production problems, with Ron Howard replacing original directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord after they were fired. Solo hits theaters on May 27. Earlier this week, a new promo for Denny's restaurant revealed some of the movie's new aliens.
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Gilroy appeared on The Moment With Brian Koppelman podcast, and was asked about his experiences on Rogue One. The Gilroy explained that, unlike Edwards, he was not a Star Wars fan. "I've never been interested in Star Wars, ever," he said, via The Hollywood Reporter. "So I had no reverence for it whatsoever. I was unafraid about that. And they were in such a swamp. They were in so much terrible, terrible trouble that all you could do was improve their position."
Gilroy went on to suggest that his role in both rewriting the script and directing the reshoots was to help focus the story. "If you look at Rogue, all the difficulty with Rogue, all the confusion of it and all the mess... in the end when you get in there, it's actually very, very simple to solve," he said. "Because you sort of go, 'This is a movie where, folks, just look. Everyone is going to die.' So it's a movie about sacrifice."
Rumors about Rogue One's troubled production had been circulating as early as January 2016, eleven months before the film's release. Initially it was reported Mission: Impossible director Chris McQuarrie had been hired to help "save" the screenplay. Then in May, the story broke that Edwards' first cut had not tested well, and that weeks of expensive reshoots would be required.In the recent interview, Gilroy confirmed that he was brought in at this stage. "I came in after the director's cut," he said. "I have a screenplay credit in the arbitration that was easily won." Both Edwards and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy downplayed the reshoots at the time.
The second Star Wars spin-off, Solo: A Star Wars Story, has also had production problems, with Ron Howard replacing original directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord after they were fired. Solo hits theaters on May 27. Earlier this week, a new promo for Denny's restaurant revealed some of the movie's new aliens.
More...