When Disney and Lucasfilm first signaled their intentions to release a new Star Wars movie on an annual basis, the news was greeted with a mixture of enthusiasm and skepticism. Longtime fans and newbies alike were more than happy with the idea of a steady stream of fresh content, but there was the very real danger of oversaturating the market and franchise fatigue lurking in the background.
Despite a troubled production, though, that saw Tony Gilroy assume command from director Gareth Edwards and helm a series of extensive reshoots, the Anthology experiment got off to a fantastic start with Rogue One. The concept took a single line of text from the opening crawl of A New Hope and spun it off into an action-packed adventure that tied into the events of the Original Trilogy without focusing too heavily on nostalgia, bringing in a vibrant roster of brand new characters for good measure.
Not only did it race to over a billion dollars at the box office, but it was also greeted with major enthusiasm from critics and audiences, comfortably ranking in the upper echelons of the franchise in terms of quality. As you may’ve noticed, yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of the movie’s release, and Rogue One was trending on social media as fans named it Disney’s best Star Wars effort.
Can we talk about how beautiful a movie Rogue One is and how it’s easily the best looking Disney Star Wars movie pic.twitter.com/xE6Mo6pLhL
— Alex ✡️ | (@inquisikestis) December 16, 2020
ive seen this movie way too many times but idc cause it is the best disney star wars #rogueoneday pic.twitter.com/5OL2KMktqN
— nat 🪩 (@STARRLlGHTS) December 16, 2020
Rogue One is the best Disney Star Wars film. I have spoken. pic.twitter.com/y0ovBp9Rkq
— damo (@MFDAMO) December 16, 2020
Happy 4 years to the best Disney Star Wars movie. Sorry I don’t make the rules here. pic.twitter.com/crT7q1iXRh
— Joe (@thisislijoe) December 16, 2020
The only good Disney Star Wars movie 😊💕 https://t.co/CdodCcbRix
— MovieBoy (@movieboy69) December 16, 2020
Happy 4th Birthday to my favorite of the Disney Star Wars films ✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/RJLk1rHae7
— TheMandaloryan💫 (@themandaloryan) December 16, 2020
Rogue One IS the definitive Disney Star Wars movie. pic.twitter.com/05uNCTLEAJ
— The Book of RC-1138 (@OslonKrennic) December 16, 2020
“Disney Star Wars” appears to be trending again, so here is a #RogueOne appreciation post.
This scene, in particular, is fantastic. Personally, this movie is my favorite of the Disney Star Wars. pic.twitter.com/WJmgdHJy87
— TK (@Knave091) December 16, 2020
Rogue One is one of the greatest things to come out of the Disney Star Wars era. pic.twitter.com/EaQRlVEWS6
— peanut (@DAISYJEDIRIDLEY) December 16, 2020
'Rogue One' was released 4 years ago today pic.twitter.com/d5PYzVDGHG
— ScreenTime (@screentime) December 16, 2020
After Rogue One marked such a promising start, Solo bombing at the box office saw the annual release strategy and several further Anthology stories abandoned entirely, while the final two chapters of the Skywalker Saga split opinion down the middle. On the big screen at least, Star Wars is in desperate need of rejuvenation, and Patty Jenkins and Taika Waititi will look to spearhead a resurgence over the next few years.
