The long wait is finally over andStar Warsfans all around the world have finally had the chance to seeRogue One: A Star Wars Story. While the movie does do a good job of standing on its own and is the very firstStar Warsmovie to ever take place outside of theSkywalker saga, it does have a ton of connective tissue withStar Wars: A New Hope. In fact, it actually features some unused footage shot for the original movie, which directorGareth Edwardsmade use of.
The director ofStar Wars: Rogue Onerecently spoke withRadio Timesabout the movie and revealed that there were indeed shots fromStar Wars: A New Hopein the movie. The footage was discovered when he and some other members of his team were touring the archives atSkywalker Ranchand they decided to use the discovery as an opportunity. Here is what he had to say about it.
“We got the neg documents and found the clips from A New Hope that hadn’t been used. And there’s pilot photography and lines that were never featured inA New Hope. Through the magic of ILM [special effect studio Industrial Light and Magic] they cut round them and manipulated them and stuck them into our cockpits. It’s the sort of thing you think, ‘how many people will notice?’ Do you know what I mean? It’s like, is this a lot of effort for very little reward? At the world premiere in LA, there was this massive cheer at a particular point in the film. It was the only time during the premiere where I actually punched the air.”
The shots that were used inStar Wars: Rogue Onewere from the famous assault on the Death Star in the originalStar Warsand it served as a way to include both Gold and Red Leader in this first spinoff movie. It wasn’t just a shoehorned in thing, either. Given the context of the movie, which centers on how the Rebels got their hands on the plans for the Empire’s planet-destroying weapon, it makes a lot of sense to see the famed Rebel pilots in this movie. It seems as though the effort that went into this little detail paid off, since fans have definitely taken notice and it blended seamlessly into the movie.
Gareth Edwardsmentions that Industrial Light & Magic was responsible for making this happen and that isn’t the only thing they were busy doing forRogue One: A Star Wars Story. The special effects legends also had their hands full re-creating the likeness of the latePeter Cushingas Grand Moff Tarkin, who appears in the movie as a completely CGI character. This has been divisive among fans, but the character is very central to the Death Star plot and his inclusion in the movie is very logical. At the very least, it is impressive how muchILMwas able to do in order to make this movie really connect toStar Wars: A New Hope.
Nobody was expectingStar Wars: Rogue Oneto match thebox office success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but after this weekend it is safe to say that Disney and Lucasfilm have another big hit on their hands. The movie grossed $290 million worldwide this weekend, meaning that this firstStar Warsstandalone movie is going to wind up being a big success. No doubt, it is small details likeGareth Edwards' decision to use the footage fromStar Wars: A New Hopethat will keep fans coming back to see the movie repeatedly and help further its success moving forward.
