TOPIC: So far, so good!

Obviously, we don't know much yet. To be perfectly honest, that is just fine by me. I don't want to know too much. But, what we have seen so far strikes all the right chords with me! It was promised that this would be a ground war movie. Gritty, and somewhat violent, and it looks like that is what we are going to get.

We see our heroine being led through the Rebel base, in binders, on what appears to be Yavin 4. By the tone of the conversation, she was "detained" for an attack on Imperials that was deemed a tad too brutal. Her response to this "This is a rebellion. I rebel". The way she says it, you can tell she thinks that the Rebels are not going far enough in their efforts against the Empire. I would guess that is exactly the reason she is recruited for this team of mercenaries to steal the plans to the Death Star. Very likely, all of her teammates have similar backgrounds, and reasons to be doing this. The leadership of the Rebellion knows that this mission could be a one way trip for most of them, and the participants have to not only be aware of that fact, but be OK with it. That is obviously conjecture, but with what we saw, I think it fits pretty well. We can check back in December to see if I was even close.

The images of the final stages of construction of the Death Star were nothing short of awe inspiring! The Star Destroyers at various distances from the camera, all dwarfed by even the surface features of the Death Star. Here is another theory of mine. We will witness the first test of its destructive power in this movie. I mean, does anyone really think that the destruction of Alderran was the first use of the super laser? Tarkin would not have ordered that action unless he was SURE it would work, and he would know that because it would have already have a proven track record. The most likely test target would be whatever planet it is orbiting while under construction, which would accomplish two things. Test the weapon, and also silence most people outside the upper echelons of the Empire who have knowledge of its existence.

Personally, I cannot wait to see this one!

I'm hoping we find out a bit about the Sentinel star system in this movie. From Tarkin we know that Sentinel Base is located on a moon there, but they haven't specified any planets in the system yet. Which is weird, since the fact that it's on a moon clearly implies that there is a planet. Maybe the forest one we see in the trailer?

I'm waiting to find out who the Grand Admiral is that shows up in the trailer. If the rumors of having James Luceno's Tarkin make a full CG appearance are true, then it makes sense that they would only use him sparingly and have this new character fill his role for the film. It also gives the events of the movie a bit more possibilities; if the guy chasing the Rebels was Tarkin then there would be a little less tension since we know he survives until the Death Star's destruction.

I'm also a bit stumped by the guy with the staff. May be a Jedi wannabe, but since none are left to teach him how to make a lightsaber (and I don't think he's force sensitive) he runs around hitting people with a pole.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up just in case...but this is too good.

Rogue One Insiders Describe Darth Vader as "Brutal"

I hope they do go brutal with their depiction of Vader! I would love to see a scene, like the one from the comics where he encircled by an entire company of soldiers, and someone tells him "You are surrounded! Surrender!". His response is "All I am surrounded by is fear, and dead men". Then his saber ignites. Yeah, I want that!

I also think this would be a wonderful opportunity for Vader to finally be SHOWN to be as powerful on screen as he has always been touted to be in dialog. The only example of this we have ever actually seen was when he lifted an AT-ST, and threw it aside. Between that, and some dark side dispatch of a lot of enemies...yes, I want that!

Not super excited about the new TIE design, but everything else looks pretty awesome!

Borommakot wrote:

Well damn! I am afraid I have to eat some crow here.

I have steadfastly defended the Disney acquisition of LucasFilm, as just an ownership, and not a creative control. Kathleen Kennedy was the final word on all things Star Wars in this situation. Well, now comes word that Disney execs saw an early cut of Rogue One, and ordered reshoots to lighten the mood, inject some humor, and give it more of the "feel" of the other Star Wars movies. I have to say that, if all of this is factual, I am disappointed.

I was actually looking forward to a gritty war movie, and now it sounds like that is what they made, but it did not pass the Disney "happy ending" sniff test. I really hope that this is just an internet rumor being overblown, but it feels like something that could have happened. I will be keeping my ear to the ground for more information on this one.

In the meantime, I am trying to get to the point of acceptance on potentially lowering my expectations on the movie, and to anyone who I contradicted on their fear of Disney interference, my humble apologies.

I thought the same thing. So frustrating.

I don't like Disney interfering that's for sure, but (and I may be about to be the voice of unpopular opinion here) I. Don't. Mind.

If all they're asking for is to make this a bit lighter toward the vibe of the other films, I'm kinda okay with that. I've never thought that Star Wars films would make for a good gritty type thing, and would much rather that is left to books or comic series, hell, even games, although with EA running things for the foreseeable future that is unlikely. To me, a movie (or more specifically) a Star Wars movie, doesn't have the time to properly implement a gritty thing in the range of what many want it to, whereas a book or series of books or comics has far more time and development in which to do so. In the past I have always preferred the gritty Star Wars to stay off the big screen and in the Expanded Universe, and I honestly do hope it remains the same with the new Canon and whatever Expanded Universe springs up around it.

However, if they do interfere too much, I will be very annoyed, and would rather this not happen to too large an extent.

Brax wrote: I absolutely love that part of the comic! I agree. This is the guy who slaughtered a whole temple of younglings, even before he was a real darth. He should be more than talk and a couple of force chokes.

The latest reports are saying that the reshoots are for 40% of the film according to the crew.



Apparently Christopher McQuarrie's draft of the script wasn't done before the end of principal photography, and the final product felt "uneven."

Brax wrote:
Last I heard, official word was reshoots were happening because quality of the movie wasn't up-to-snuff. Anything beyond that is just internet rumors.

If it offers any bit of hope, there was an interview with the Captain America writers who've been with the series for all three installments. They talk about how after the Disney acquisition, they were actually given more leeway, rather than more control from the highers-up.

Granted, Star Wars is an entirely different thing that's relatively new to Disney, so they might be trying to play it safe, but it might to help keeping in mind that Disney's apparently had a hands-off approach with previous acquisitions.

I'd rather have a polished kid friendly SW film than a poorly scripted gritty SW film. That said I have sympathy for everyone involved. I'm sure Edwards was given a directive, "make a SW 'war movie'" and he delivered on that best he could with the script he was given. Execs probably monitored the film's progress and while the dailies probably looked solid when they pulled together a rough cut it probably revealed scripting and tone problems. Faced with a subpar cut it looks like they make the tough choice to go back for reshoots with an updated script and clearer direction for Edwards. That show business etc.

After reading other takes, and other accounts of this issue, it sounds like re-shoots are not uncommon at all. However, if the 40% rumors are true, that is almost half the movie! I would imagine that, even if re-shoots are fairly commonplace, re-shooting that much of the film has to be a bit on the high side.

I understand that since this is the first of many planned anthology films, the pressure to get the first one right and have it be a big hit is likely very high. I hope that fact has not made them overly paranoid about things, encouraging them to make more changes than might have been necessary, than say if it had been third or fourth in line.

Whatever ends up being the case, I hope they achieve a good balance between the more light-hearted tone they are going for, and the more serious war movie that they started out to have. They manage to do it pretty well in the Marvel movies, Civil War being a good example. But, in a real war setting like the Rebellion, I think it will be a tougher thing to pull off.

We will see in a little over 6 months! I still have high hopes.

The R1 team has been on damage control about the reshoots and Entertainment Weekly posted some clarifying facts about them (all info taken fromStar Wars Leaks and EW R1 Article ) :

-4-5 weeks of reshoots, not 8
-No mention of 6-day work weeks
-Reshoots part of original schedule, as is usual for a film of this budget
-Reshoots were NOT ordered by Disney
-40% figure laughed off as something that would require the release date to be pushed back
-New shots are being added to the film, not replacing existing scenes
-They are for character development and story, involving "a lot of talking in cockpits"

This sounds better h2soy. I'm glad to hear Disney interference is being kept to minimum, and that the film is proceeding as planned. Obviously we still need to wait for more info and ultimately the film release to know what has gone on, but I'm sure it will reassure many here.

As I and others have said I'm hoping for a good mix of serious and humourous, just like the other films have tended to be. I would rather it be a good Star Wars standard film first, and a good war story second, so it fits in the rest of the films well.

I really think the issues here are many. While many liked Episode VII quite a few didn't and a lot of people are still unsure of Disney and how far they plan on milking the franchise. Worries are high and with this film that many were excited for, any potential changes to the film will add to these worries and blow them out of proportion. This is why I almost always avoid anything to do with film releases. Often, I've seen people lose interest in a film (not a Star Wars one of course, but still) because of things that happened in its development, despite the fact the film will remain good. I usually just wait until release, don't pay attention to the rumours and go watch it, and decide then if its good or bad.

I understand wanting to follow the film and its developments however, as the new films are the biggest thing Star Wars in years, but I would advise remaining calm about any "big rumours" until more is announced. Its good for the health

h2soy wrote:
Whew!

Enormous relief. Thanks!

EW just did an article with some additional Rogue One character details including an interesting revelation as to the identity of Forest Whitaker's character. I think it's pretty fitting.