Long before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story entered development in earnest, it was almost a forgone conclusion that Gareth Edwards’ militaristic offshoot, while fresh and intriguing on paper, would always been seen as something of a creative risk, particularly as it’s emerging from the huge shadow cast by The Force Awakens and its record-breaking success.
But few could have predicted the hullabaloo that began to snowball once Disney officially ordered reshoots of Edwards’ Anthology flick after reportedly expressing concern with the initial cut. With upwards of 40 percent of scenes set to be overhauled and a new director being brought in to oversee the changes in Tony Gilroy, Rogue One has been a hub of activity over the past fortnight for better or worse.
Now, Mads Mikkelsen has weighed in on the seemingly extensive overhaul. On board to play the father of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the Danish actor spoke to The Independent about the matter at hand, where he essentially allayed fears that Rogue One would be a completely different movie when all was said and done.
“Basically, all the big films I have done always have reshoots, it is part of their budget. They’re either not super happy with a scene bit, the way we were acting, or maybe there’s something they want to add. It’s not a new thing, it happens with every film. Whether it’s bigger or less, I have no idea, I have nothing to compare with. It’s the same film; it’s just adding little bits here and there to do the final polishing. That’s my feeling.”
From Jaws to Back to the Future, last-minute tampering is nothing new in the blockbuster space, and it’s fair to say that Rogue One has been unfairly thrust into the spotlight precisely because it comes bearing the Star Wars title and, ultimately, heightened expectations. In fact, he may not be involved in those aforementioned reshoots, but writer-director Christopher McQuarrie did ask fans to lend Gareth Edwards’ spinoff the “benefit of the doubt” ahead of its theatrical bow.
Speaking of which, despite being hauled in front of the cameras unexpectedly, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is still on course to arrive on December 16.
