8 Ways Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Changed The Franchise Forever

As Rogue One: A Star Wars Story closes in on $1 billion worldwide, it's clear that the first of Disney and Lucasfilm's Anthology movies is a rousing success. Adored by critics and fans alike, it pretty much guarantees that these spinoffs are going to be with us for a very long time to come, which is certainly a good thing. More than that though, it's also shown us that the franchise has been forever changed. From creative decisions to casting and the use of new technology, Rogue One has shaken up the foundation of the franchise in new and exciting ways, and the impact of its success and the choices made here will be forever felt. Star Wars will never be the same again, that's for sure, and in this article, we'll take a look at the biggest ways that Gareth Edwards' prequel changed the series and what these changes mean for the future of the ever-expanding Galaxy. Of course, spoilers will follow, so if you happen to be one of the 4 people who still hasn't seen Rogue One: A Star Wars Story yet, you may want to avert your eyes now. For everyone else, though, enjoy! 8) CG Characters One of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's biggest talking points has to be the fact that the long dead Peter Cushing was "resurrected" for the movie with a CG double. Some fans were blown away by the effects, while others have complained that he looked like a video game character. Whichever side of the fence you may find yourself on, there's no denying that this decision will have a significant impact on the franchise moving forward. Who knows what other familiar faces could be brought back the same way, and while Harrison Ford isn't being de-aged for the upcoming Han Solo movie, it's entirely possible that we'll see the method used on characters who were played by actors both alive and dead. Furthermore, following the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher, it's a method Lucasfilm could utilize sooner rather than later, as many assume that they may go down this route for Star Wars: Episode IX. It's morally questionable, to be sure, but don't think that this is the last time the franchise will bring back an actor using CG. Who will be next remains to be seen (especially as the family of a deceased actor must give permission), but this becoming commonplace in Star Wars, and possibly other movies, is now looking more and more likely. 7) No Opening Crawl We knew for a while before the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that there would be no opening crawl, but the fact that it now appears as if all future Anthology films will be without one definitely feels like a game-changer. In many ways, ditching this iconic part of the franchise frees these movies up to tell their own stories without having to be beholden to the past. While they're all going to take place at a certain point in Star Wars history, they can now tell their own stories without being forced to tie into something very specific which may have come before. It's not a bad idea, truth be told, and though fans have taken issue with it initially, they'll no doubt get used to the new format. Plus, it doesn't look like the main saga will be ditching the opening crawl any time soon. After all, it's a nice way of differentiating between the numbered instalments and the spinoffs. 6) No One Is Safe While it's possible that at least some of the characters survived in an earlier version of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the fact that Disney and Lucasfilm killed off pretty much the entire cast by the end points to no one being safe in the future. The franchise has admittedly never shied away from some big deaths (just look at Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo, for example), but it's never killed off characters to this extent and it goes a long way in proving that any new additions to this world could meet their maker regardless of how marketable they may be. After all, it would have been easy for Disney to keep the Rogue One team alive and shove them into an animated spinoff or something similar (considering the fact that it's made so much money, a Rogue Two could have even been considered), especially as the characters proved to be quite popular among fans. The studio made the bold decision to kill them all off though and seeing as they weren't afraid to do so makes us even more excited for future films, now that we know no one - not even main characters - are safe. 5) An Even More Brutal Darth Vader We're used to seeing Darth Vader be a stone cold killer, but Rogue One: A Star Wars Story really upped the intensity with that incredible final sequence. Brutally murdering Rebel after Rebel, it felt like we were witnessing a very different side to the Sith Lord, something which was helped by the fact that the movie benefitted from modern technology that the original trilogy didn't have. Chances are that we'll see Vader return, whether it's in a movie of his own or another spinoff, and when he does, we can probably expect to see a much more violent side of the iconic villain. That's something we have to thank Gareth Edwards for, as Vader's scenes here have arguably changed his status quo in a big way and future filmmakers will no doubt strive to try and outdo this. Whether or not they'll be able to is hard to say, but it's nice to think that scenes of Vader brutally murdering Rebels could become a staple of spinoff movies set during the period in which he was alive. 4) Diversity J.J. Abrams made a big effort with Star Wars: The Force Awakens to utilize a diverse cast, hence why Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac were all cast in the lead roles. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, however, takes that one step further with both a female lead (Felicity Jones) and a supporting cast made up of actors from all over the world (Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, Diego Luna, etc.) With different accents and faces, it feels like just about everyone is represented here, and that's a big step forward for a franchise which has in the past predominantly focused on white males. The movie being such a huge success at the box office also proves that a female lead in a blockbuster like this can work, which will no doubt help ensure that future spinoffs also make use of a diverse group of actors playing a variety of characters. That's important in today's more diverse world, and it means that people of any gender and race can now look to this franchise and possibly see themselves. It's a shame that Star Wars has yet to focus on LGBT characters, but many believe that Chirrut (Donnie Yen) and Baze (Jiang Wen) may fall into that category, even though it's never directly stated. 3) A Break From The Mythology While Darth Vader may make a couple of brief appearances in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the movie gives us a break from the classic Skywalker mythology and there's not so much as a single Jedi in sight. Sure, they're referenced and the Force is mentioned, but it was actually something of a relief not to have any massive Easter Eggs dropped here which either set up future instalments in the current trilogy or further flesh out the iconic family's history, which we already know an awful lot about. Some fans would have liked to see Supreme Leader Snoke or a young Luke Skywalker show up, but aside from a glimpse of Princess Leia, the movie is relatively free of that sort of world-building. This bodes well for future spinoffs and hopefully ensures that they'll be true standalone films. Let the main saga entries take care of all the heavy lifting - these Anthology outings should be entirely their own thing. 2) Reshoots Do Work Ahead of the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we heard a lot of worrying reports about extensive reshoots taking place. While it's since become clear that the movie drastically changed as a result of them, we were still left with a great final product. That's surprising when you think back to what happened to the likes of Fantastic Four and Suicide Squad, but it may go a long way in proving that reshoots do work in the right hands and when they're not done for the wrong reasons (though we'll obviously never know what the original version of Rogue One looked like, there have been hints). Now that Disney and Lucasfilm have shown us that they know what they're doing, it's going to be much easier for fans to have faith in them moving forward, which should help ensure future movies aren't surrounded by the same negativity that this one was for months ahead of its eventual release. 1) A True Expanded Universe The Expanded Universe was scrapped by Disney when they bought Lucasfilm for a cool $4 billion, and it's not hard to see why. Decades worth of novels, comic books and video games had muddled continuity, and the franchises needed a fresh start. Since then, the studio has started creating a whole new history, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story does an amazing job of filling in one of the most important gaps. However, it's also expanded this universe in a significant way, something which is evident from the movie taking a character from The Clone Wars in the form of Saw Gerrera and now exploring their history in Star Wars Rebels. That's a good sign of things to come for the franchise from here, and the sort of thing that fans like us obviously love to see. That does it for our list, but tell us, in what ways do you think Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has changed the franchise? Head to the comments section down below to weigh in with your thoughts!