WithRogue Oneset to hit theaters in less than two weeks, Disney is holding a huge press junket for the film in San Francisco this weekend. UnlikeStar Wars: The Force Awakenswhere they had us conduct interviews with the cast without seeing anything but the trailers, sinceRogue Oneinvolves new characters and takes place before the events ofStar Wars: A New Hope, Disney showed us almost thirty minutes of the film last night at Skywalker Ranch so reporters could learn more about the story and characters. Like I said on Twitter and during a Facebook Live chat (which you canwatch here), the footage was fantastic and left all of us wanting more.
Without going into spoiler territory, the thing that made me most excited about the footage is how even thoughRogue Onetakes place before the events ofEpisode IV, it feels completely unique and original and looks and feels like a war movie that happens to take place in theStar Warsuniverse. In the footage we saw plenty of scenes showing how the Empire is trying to take control of the universe and the brutality that happens when you try and resist. Part of the reason it feels like a war movie is because that’s what directorGareth Edwardsset out to make. As you’ll see him explain in the interview above, he shotRogue Onelike a documentary embedded in a war zone. And after seeing the footage, I can say he succeeded.
In addition, Edwards talked about why we probably won’t be getting aRogue Oneextended cut on Blu-ray, if he had a lot of deleted scenes, how one of the highlights of making the film was whenMark Hamillshowed up on set wearing a Godzilla t-shirt, and the challenges of trying to tell aStar Warsstory in two hours when it could easily be ten. Check out what he had to say above.
Finally, one of my big problems with theStar Warsuniverse is for a galaxy so vast, we always seem to meet up with the same characters. While I had a great time watching R2-D2, C3P0, Han, Luke, Leia and Chewbacca in The Force Awakens, I was even more excited to meet the new characters and visit different worlds. When Lucasfilm announced they were making spin-off/anthology movies that took place in theStar Warsuniverse I was ecstatic. We’d finally get to visit new worlds and meet new characters.Rogue Onehopefully is a great example of what’s to come. In the footage I saw we traveled to plenty of interesting new planets filled with characters I’ve never seen. I can’t wait to see the finished film and explore what’s still to come.
Gareth Edwards:
