Rogue One | |
---|---|
Directed by | Gareth Edwards |
Screenplay by | |
Story by | |
Based on | Characters by George Lucas |
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Greig Fraser |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Michael Giacchino |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 134 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $200–265 million [2] [3] |
Box office | $1.058 billion [4] |
Rogue One (or Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the first installment of the Star Wars anthology series, and an immediate prequel to Star Wars (1977). [lower-alpha 1] The main cast consists of Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, and Forest Whitaker. Set a week before the events of Star Wars, the plot follows a group of rebels who band together to steal plans of the Death Star, the ultimate weapon of the Galactic Empire. It details the Rebel Alliance's first effective victory against the Empire, first referenced in Star Wars' opening crawl. [5]
Based on an idea first pitched by Knoll ten years before it entered development, the film was made to be different in tone and style from the traditional Star Wars films, omitting the customary opening crawl and transitional screen wipes. Principal photography on the film began at Pinewood Studios, [6] Buckinghamshire, in early August 2015 and wrapped in February 2016. The film then went through extensive reshoots in mid-2016. [7] The film's score was composed by Michael Giacchino, rather than John Williams, who composed the score of all prior Skywalker Saga films up to that point. With an estimated production budget of at least $200-265 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.
Rogue One premiered in Los Angeles on December 10, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 16. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its acting, story, visuals, musical score, cinematography, and the darker and more serious tone compared to previous Star Wars films, but criticism for its pacing, characters, and digital recreations of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it the 20th-highest-grossing film of all time and the second-highest-grossing film of 2016 during its theatrical run. It received two Academy Award nominations for Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects.
A spin-off television series Andor , debuted on Disney+ on September 21, 2022, with Luna returning as the title character.
Research scientist Galen Erso and his family hide on the planet Lah'mu when Imperial weapons developer Orson Krennic arrives to press him into completing the Death Star, a superweapon capable of destroying planets. Galen's wife Lyra is killed in the confrontation while their daughter Jyn escapes and is rescued by rebel extremist Saw Gerrera.
Fifteen years later, cargo pilot Bodhi Rook defects from the Empire, taking a holographic message recorded by Galen to Gerrera on the desert moon Jedha. Rebel Alliance intelligence officer Cassian Andor learns of Rook's defection and the Death Star from an informant. Jyn is freed from an Imperial labor camp at Wobani and is brought to the Rebel leaders Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, who convince her to find and rescue Galen so the Alliance can learn more about the superweapon. Cassian is covertly ordered to aid Jyn but kill Galen rather than extract him.
Jyn, Cassian, and reprogrammed former Imperial droid K-2SO travel to the moon Jedha, where the Empire loots kyber crystals from Jedha City to power the Death Star; Gerrera and his partisans are engaged in an armed insurgency against them. With the aid of blind spiritual warrior Chirrut Îmwe and his mercenary friend Baze Malbus, Jyn makes contact with Gerrera, who holds Rook captive. Gerrera shows her the message in which Galen reveals he has secretly built a vulnerability into the Death Star. The schematics detailing this are in an Imperial data bank on the planet Scarif.
On the Death Star, Krennic orders a low-powered test fire which destroys Jedha City. Jyn and her group take Rook and flee the moon, but Gerrera remains to die with the city. Grand Moff Tarkin congratulates Krennic before using Rook's defection and security leak as a pretext to take control of the project. Rook leads the group to Galen's Imperial research facility on the planet Eadu, where Cassian chooses not to kill Galen. Rebel bombers then attack the facility. Galen is wounded and dies in Jyn's arms, before she escapes with her group on a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle. Krennic is summoned by Darth Vader to answer for the attack on Jedha. Krennic seeks his support for an audience with the Emperor, but Vader instead chokes him and orders him to ensure no further breaches occur.
Jyn proposes a plan to steal the Death Star schematics to the Rebel fleet but fails to gain approval from the Alliance Council, who feel victory against the Empire is now impossible. Frustrated at their inaction, Jyn's group leads a small squad of Rebel volunteers to raid the databank; the group arrives on Scarif in the stolen Imperial shuttle (which Rook dubs "Rogue One") after having been granted access through the planet's shield by feigning as legitimate traffic. Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO infiltrate the base while the other Rebels attack the Imperial garrison as a diversion.
The Alliance learns of the raid from intercepted Imperial communications and deploys their fleet in support. K-2SO sacrifices himself so Jyn and Cassian can retrieve the data. Îmwe is killed after activating the master switch to allow communication with the Rebel fleet, and Malbus is killed shortly afterward. Rook is killed by a grenade after informing the Rebel fleet that it must deactivate the planetary shield to allow the transmission of the schematics. Rebel Admiral Raddus uses a Hammerhead corvette to crash two Star Destroyers into each other; the wreckage collides with and destroys the shield generator. Jyn obtains the schematics but is ambushed by Krennic, who is shot and wounded by Cassian. Jyn transmits the schematics to the Rebel command ship via the base's antenna moments before the Death Star suddenly arrives above Scarif. With another shot from the Death Star, Tarkin destroys the base, killing Krennic, Cassian, Jyn, and the remaining ground forces.
The Rebel fleet prepares to jump to hyperspace. However, Admiral Raddus and many of the fleet's ships are intercepted by Vader's Star Destroyer. Vader boards the Rebel command ship and kills many troops trying to regain the schematics, but a corvette [lower-alpha 2] escapes with them on board. Aboard the fleeing ship, Princess Leia Organa declares that the schematics will provide hope for the Rebellion before the ship enters hyperspace. [lower-alpha 3]
Jimmy Smits, Genevieve O'Reilly, Anthony Daniels, and Jimmy Vee reprise their roles from previous films as Bail Organa, [23] Mon Mothma, [24] C-3PO, [25] and R2-D2, [25] respectively; Vee is uncredited for his role. James Earl Jones also reprises his role from previous films as the voice of Darth Vader, [26] who is physically portrayed by Spencer Wilding during the meeting with Krennic and aboard the Star Destroyer, and by Daniel Naprous for the end scene. [27] [28] [29] Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia Organa are played by Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila, respectively, with the digital likenesses of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher superimposed. [30] [31] Henry also provides the voice for Tarkin, while archival audio of Fisher is used for Leia. [32] Angus MacInnes and Drewe Henley are featured as Gold Leader Dutch Vander and Red Leader Garven Dreis, respectively, via unused footage from A New Hope ; MacInnes returned to record new dialogue for Vander, while new dialogue for the deceased Henley was assembled from archival material. [25] [33] [34] [35] David Ankrum, who voiced Wedge Antilles in A New Hope, reprises his role in a vocal cameo. [34] [36] Ian McElhinney, Michael Smiley, Andy de la Tour, and Tim Beckmann play General Jan Dodonna, Dr. Evazan, General Hurst Romodi, and Captain Raymus Antilles, respectively. [34] Warwick Davis plays Weeteef Cyubee, a member of Saw Gerrera's Partisans. [37] Dave Filoni reprises his role as C1-10P from Star Wars Rebels . Stephen Stanton voices Admiral Raddus, while Paul Kasey appears in costume as the alien character on-screen.
Duncan Pow plays Ruescott Melshi, [38] a sergeant in the Rebel Alliance. Additionally, Alistair Petrie plays General Davits Draven, [12] Ben Daniels plays General Antoc Merrick, [39] and Valene Kane plays Lyra Erso, Jyn's mother. [40] Jonathan Aris, [41] Fares Fares, [42] [43] and Sharon Duncan-Brewster appear as Senators Nower Jebel, Vasp Vaspar, and Tynnra Pamlo, respectively. Simon Farnaby plays a member of Blue Squadron. [25] Jordan Stephens appears as Rebel Alliance member Corporal Tonc. [25] Nick Kellington plays Bistan, the door gunner on a U-wing during the battle on Scarif. [44] Ian Whyte plays Moroff, a member of Saw Gerrera's Partisans. [45] Daniel Mays appears as Tivik. Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, director and producer of Star Wars: The Last Jedi , respectively, cameo as two Death Star technicians. [46]
In 2003, during the production of Episode III in Sydney, John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for all three prequels, pitched an episode for the unproduced series Star Wars: Underworld . At the time he had written a short treatment called "Destroyer of Worlds". [47] [48] After the Disney acquisition he felt as though he had to pitch it again or forever wonder "what might've happened if I had." [49] [50] In May 2014, Disney announced Gareth Edwards would direct the film and Gary Whitta would write the script. [51] That October, cinematographer Greig Fraser revealed that he would work on the film. [52] In January 2015, it was revealed Whitta had completed his work on the script, and would no longer be with the project. [53] Simon Kinberg was considered as a replacement. [54] Later that month, it was announced Chris Weitz had signed to write the script for the film. [55] In March 2015, the title was announced. [56] [lower-alpha 4]
Edwards stated the style of the film would be similar to that of a war film, stating, "It's the reality of war. Good guys are bad. Bad guys are good. It's complicated, layered; a very rich scenario in which to set a movie." [58] [59] Assuming Disney would not allow a dark ending, Edwards had the main characters surviving in the original version of the script, but the producers opted for a more tragic ending and never filmed the original version. [60] [61] [62]
In May 2016, reports emerged the film would undergo five weeks of reshoots with Tony Gilroy writing additional scenes, as well as acting as a second-unit director under Edwards. [63] [64] With input from Edwards, Gilroy oversaw the edit and additional photography of the film which tackled several issues, including the ending. [65] In August, Gilroy was given screenplay credit alongside Weitz and was paid $5 million for his work on the film. [66] [67] Additionally, Christopher McQuarrie, Scott Z. Burns, and Michael Arndt all contributed to the script at various stages in development. [68] [69]
In July 2016, discussing whether the film would feature an opening crawl, Kathleen Kennedy said, "we're in the midst of talking about it, but I don't think these [anthology] films will have an opening crawl." Edwards explained that the film was "supposed to be different than the saga films," and that "This film is born out of a crawl. ... There's this feeling that if we did a crawl, then it'll create another movie." [70] In November 2016, Kennedy confirmed the film would not feature an opening crawl, instead beginning in "a way that is traditional, with just the title." [71]
At the 2016 Star Wars Celebration, Edwards said the title had three meanings: "a military sign," referring to the Red Squadron from A New Hope; "the 'rogue' one" of the franchise, given it is the first film to not be part of the main saga; and a description of Jyn Erso's personality. [72]
In January 2015, The Hollywood Reporter stated numerous actresses, including Tatiana Maslany, Rooney Mara, and Felicity Jones were being tested for the film's lead. [73] In February 2015, it was announced Jones was in final talks to star in the film, while Aaron Paul and Édgar Ramírez were being eyed for the male lead role. [74] In March 2015, Jones was officially cast. [56] In March 2015, Deadline Hollywood reported a rumor that Ben Mendelsohn was being considered for a lead role. [75] The next month, TheWrap reported that Sam Claflin was being eyed for a role, while Riz Ahmed was in negotiations to join the film. [76] In May, Mendelsohn, Ahmed, and Diego Luna were added to the cast of the film, in the lead roles. [77] Forest Whitaker was added to the cast in June 2015. [78] In July 2015, Jonathan Aris was cast to play Senator Jebel. [79] Genevieve O'Reilly was cast as Mon Mothma, reprising her role from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith . [24] James Earl Jones was confirmed to return as the voice of Darth Vader in June 2016. [80]
Principal photography on the film began at Pinewood Studios, [6] Buckinghamshire, on August 8, 2015. [81] [82] Much of the other photography was completed near Pinewood Studios at Buckinghamshire, UK where huge sets were built to complement scenes filmed elsewhere in the world. [83] The film was shot using Ultra Panavision 70 lenses with Arri Alexa 65 large format digital 6K [84] cameras. [85]
Filming locations were used around the world. In Iceland, the crew shot in Reynisfjara, and around the mountains of Hjörleifshöfði and Hafursey at Mýrdalssandur, which were used to represent Lah'mu and Eadu. [86] [87] [88] [89] Also used were the Krafla area with its volcanic crater [90] and around Lake Mývatn's rock formations. [91] The islands of Gan and Baresdhoo of the Laamu Atoll in the Maldives, as well as the former RAF Bovingdon airfield, were used to represent Scarif. [92] [93] Wadi Rum in Jordan and the fortification of Masada was used to represent Jedha. [94] [95] [96] Pymmes Park in Edmonton, London was also used for location filming, [97] and scenes set on Yavin 4 were filmed at Cardington Airfield. [87] Gareth Edwards selected the London Underground's Canary Wharf station as a location for a chase scene in an Imperial base; the location shoot took place between midnight and 4 am, when the station was closed to the public. [98]
The film spent an estimated total of $265 million and received a $45.5 million subsidy from the United Kingdom's film incentive program. [3]
On February 11, 2016, Disney executives stated the film was "virtually completed." [99] Several weeks of pre-scheduled reshoots began in June 2016. [100] Tony Gilroy, who was an uncredited writer on the film at the time, was hired to direct the reshoots and rework aspects of the film, earning him a screenwriting credit. [101] [60] [102] In 2023, Edwards disputed the reports that he was sidelined during the reshoots, saying that he remained heavily involved during the reshoots and worked with Gilroy. The very last scene to be shot was Darth Vader attacking the Rebels. [103] It was created solely using digital tools. [104]
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) produced the film's visual effects. ILM used CGI and digitally altered archive footage to insert Peter Cushing's likeness over the body of actor Guy Henry. Lucasfilm secured permission from the late actor's estate to include him in the film. [105] The team reportedly searched through countless hours of Cushing footage in order to find suitable reference material, and Henry provided the motion capture and voice work. A digital model of Cushing was mapped over Henry's performance like a digital body mask. Cushing's mannerisms, including his manner of speaking, were studied by the creative team and applied to the digital Tarkin model. [106] Cushing's estate was heavily involved with the creation and had input right down to "small, subtle adjustments." [107] [108] [105] A similar process was used in the portrayal of Princess Leia; Carrie Fisher's appearance as Leia in the first film was superimposed over the face of Norwegian actress Ingvild Deila and archival audio of Fisher saying "hope" was used to voice the character. [30] [31] [109]
Post-production wrapped on November 28, 2016. [110]
It does borrow from traditions that both John Williams and George Lucas borrowed from when they made the original Star Wars, you know. George was looking at Flash Gordon , the old serials, and John was looking at Gustav Holst and different composers along the way to get a baseline for what he wanted to communicate. There is a wonderful musical language that John put together for the original films. I wanted to honor that vernacular but still do something new with it, something that was still me in a way.
—Michael Giacchino, on balancing the musical traditions of Star Wars with his original music for Rogue One. [111]
In March 2015, it was reported that Alexandre Desplat who had worked with Edwards on Godzilla (2014), would compose the score for Rogue One, [112] and had confirmed it in an April 2016 interview. [113] As the film's reshooting affected the post-production process, Desplat opted out from the project due to his commitments for scoring Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and was replaced by Michael Giacchino in September 2016. [114] Giacchino only had four and a half weeks to compose the music for the film, beginning almost immediately after finishing production on Doctor Strange . [111] In addition to composing original themes, Giacchino incorporated John Williams' themes from previous films into the score. [111] The official soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on December 16, 2016. [115] An extended version of the soundtrack was released on February 11, 2022, which includes additional demos composed for the film score, and cues that were not included in the album, or being un-edited. [116] A vinyl edition was further released by Mondo in March 2022. [117] [118]
Promotion of Rogue One was initially delayed by the release of the film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation in July 2015, because the titles are similar. Paramount Pictures registered and cleared the title with the Motion Picture Association of America in January 2015, well before Disney announced the title of its forthcoming Star Wars spinoff. Disney and Lucasfilm had to reach an agreement with Paramount over promotion in order to avoid any confusion in the public mind. Disney agreed to embargo promotion on Rogue One until after mid-2015, with the exception of a very short teaser which was screened at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim that year. [119]
A teaser trailer for Rogue One, released by Lucasfilm on April 7, 2016, was praised by reviewers for its portrayal of strong female characters. The Daily Telegraph described Jyn Erso's character as "a roguish, Han Solo-style heroine," calling the film "progressive," while noting its painstaking faithfulness to the production design style of the original Star Wars trilogy. [120] The Hollywood Reporter also noted the visual nods to the original trilogy, and examined the film's possible narrative direction, considering that the outcome is to some extent already revealed in the opening crawl of A New Hope . [121] The Atlantic writer David Sims stated that the trailer brought "back some memorable pieces of architecture, from the lumbering AT-AT walkers to the Death Star itself, not to mention the glorious 70s costuming of Star Wars." He added that the trailer has "the look," blending the old with the new. [122] The trailer was viewed close to 30 million times in its first 29 hours, at a rate of 800,000 views per hour, from Facebook and YouTube, which is 200,000 views shy of what the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was receiving in November 2014. [123]
In June 2016, Rogue One was promoted at the Star Wars Celebration Europe III event in London. During the event, a new official poster was unveiled, which depicts a battle taking place on the tropical planet Scarif, with the Death Star looming large in a blue sky, above which is printed the tagline "A Rebellion Built on Hope". A second teaser trailer was screened exclusively at the event, and it was reviewed favorably by critics; The Daily Telegraph noted that the trailer revealed new locations such as the planets Jedha and Scarif, and that its most significant revelation came in the final seconds of the teaser, with the appearance of Darth Vader, reflected in a computer screen and accompanied by his classic breathing sound effect. [98] Variety also hailed the Vader reveal, and noted that the emphasis of the production was much more on the kinetic depiction of large battle sequences and full-on warfare, comparing it to Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now . A showreel was also shown during the event, which featured footage from the film, cut with behind-the-scenes shots and interviews with the director and cast members. [124] The second trailer was shown publicly during a broadcast of the 2016 Summer Olympics and received positive responses; Wired stated that the trailer was "littered with nostalgic throwbacks to the original trilogy," while Rolling Stone described the CGI landscape shots seen in the footage as "eye-poppingly gorgeous." [125] [126]
A further trailer released in October 2016 prompted The Hollywood Reporter to comment that the newly revealed footage looked like "a trailer to a different movie than the one advertised earlier," remarking that Jyn Erso appeared to be portrayed as a more vulnerable character, and highlighting the appearance of Galen Erso as a protective father figure. [127] Vanity Fair also commented on the emphasis given to Jyn's relationship with her father, suggesting that Rogue One was drawing on "the Star Wars franchise's greatest natural resource: daddy issues." [128]
The film's publicity tour began in Mexico on November 23, 2016. [129]
In Asia, Disney focused marketing efforts on Donnie Yen, with his individual poster being used for marketing in territories including Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The official Star Wars Facebook page of the respective Asian countries also featured clips and videos of Donnie Yen speaking various languages, greeting fans and telling them to support the film. Disney also released various versions of international trailers with more footage of Yen. [130] [131]
A tie-in novel to the film, Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel , was released on November 15, 2016. [132] Written by veteran Star Wars novelist James Luceno, the story is set some years before the events of Rogue One, and provides a backstory to the 2016 film. [133] The novelization of the film was written by Alexander Freed, and released on December 16, 2016. [134]
Months after the film was released, Lucasfilm Press published two further novels, titled Star Wars: Rebel Rising and Star Wars: Guardians of the Whills on May 2, 2017. Rebel Rising was written by Beth Revis, and explains what happened to Jyn Erso between the time her mother died and the day when Rebel agents freed her from an Imperial labor camp, a time period that the film skips over in its opening minutes. [135] Guardians of the Whills was written by novelist and comic writer Greg Rucka, and focuses on the characters Chirrut and Baze, telling their backstories as well as giving more context to the events that happened on Jedha prior to the Imperial occupation depicted in the film.
Months after the film was released, Marvel Comics adapted the film into a six-part comic book miniseries, which adds extra content. [136] The miniseries' complete collection was released on December 12, 2017.
In August 2017, IDW Publishing announced that it would make a one-shot graphic novel adaptation of the film, which was released one day after the Marvel miniseries' collection was released. Unlike the Marvel miniseries, this graphic novel will have slightly more cartoonish visuals. [137] [138]
In the same month, Marvel Comics released the Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special, a 40-page one-shot comic focusing on the first meeting between Cassian Andor and K-2SO. The comic was written by Duane Swierczynski and pencilled by Fernando Blanco.
A downloadable expansion pack for Star Wars Battlefront (2015), titled Rogue One: Scarif, was released in December 2016, and added content based on the film, including new game modes, a map based on the planet Scarif, and Jyn Erso and Orson Krennic as playable characters. [139] A free virtual reality mission for PlayStation 4 was also released alongside the expansion. [140] A free update for Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) was released in April 2020, adding a different Scarif map and other Rogue One-inspired content. [141] Several characters and concepts from the film were also included in the mobile games Star Wars: Force Arena , [142] Star Wars Commander , [143] and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes . [144]
Rogue One premiered at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on December 10, 2016. [145] The film was released in certain European countries on December 14, 2016, in North America on December 16, and in China on January 6, 2017. [146]
Rogue One was released on Digital HD on March 24, 2017, and by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD on April 4, 2017. [147] The film made a revenue of $81.1 million with nearly 4 million units sold, making it the third best-selling title of 2017 behind Moana and Beauty and the Beast . [148]
It was released in 4K for the first time through the launch of Disney+ and was made available on Digital Ultra HD at the same time. It was released for Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 31, 2020, whilst also being reissued on Blu-ray and DVD.[ citation needed ]
To promote the release of Andor , Disney re-released Rogue One into over 150 IMAX theaters across the United States and Canada on August 26, 2022, featuring an exclusive preview of the Disney+ series ahead of its three-episode premiere on September 21, 2022. [149] [150]
Rogue One grossed $534.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $523.9 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $1.057 billion. [4] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $319.6 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participation, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it third on their list of 2016's "Most Valuable Blockbusters". [2]
In late November 2016, box office projections for the United States and Canada had the film grossing $100–150 million during its opening weekend. [151] [152] Disney chairman Bob Iger noted that Disney and Lucasfilm did not expect Rogue One to match The Force Awakens' total gross of $2.1 billion, nor its $248 million opening. [153] Pre-sale tickets for the film went on sale at 12:01 am EST on November 28, 2016. Within 10 minutes, ticket sale sites such as Fandango crashed, much like they had in advance of The Force Awakens the year prior. [154] In its first 24 hours, the film had the second-highest number of pre-sale tickets ever sold, behind only The Force Awakens. [155] Worldwide, the film was expected to gross $280–350 million in its opening weekend. [156]
In the United States, the film made $29 million from its Thursday night previews, making it the highest-grossing Thursday opening of 2016. On Friday, the film grossed $71.1 million, and $46.3 million the next day, securing a total of $155.1 million in its opening weekend, the third-biggest debut of 2016. [156] It topped the box office once again in its second weekend, grossing $64 million (down 58.7%) over the three day weekend, and $96.1 million over the four day weekend. On Christmas Day, it grossed $25.9 million. [157] It finished first at the box office again in its third weekend, grossing $49.6 million (−22.5%) over the three-day weekend and $65.5 million over the four-day weekend. [158] In its fourth weekend, Sunday projections had the film grossing $22 million, besting newcomer Hidden Figures ' $21.8 million. However, final figures the following day revealed the film tallied a weekend total of $21.9 million, falling to second place behind Hidden Figures' $22.8 million. [159] The IMAX re-release of the film on August 26, 2022, made $1.1 million over the weekend, bringing its running IMAX total to $105 million, 10th all-time. [160]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 463 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Rogue One draws deep on Star Wars mythology while breaking new narrative and aesthetic ground and suggesting a bright blockbuster future for the franchise." [161] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score 65 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [162] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported film goers gave the film a 91% overall positive score. [156] [163]
IGN reviewer Eric Goldman gave the film 9/10, saying, "Rogue One is a movie crammed with fan service, but when fan service is done this well, there's little to complain about and much to adore." [164] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "this spin-off/prequel has the same primitive, lived-in, emotional, loopy, let's-put-on-a-show spirit that made us fall in love with the original trilogy." [165] /Film gave Rogue One 8/10, writing that the film is enjoyable but does not have the emotional weight of The Force Awakens, because "no character in Rogue One was strongly compelling." [166] PopMatters wrote, "Rogue One seems to enjoy spending time on a whole new batch of moons and planets we haven't seen before, reveling in the clutter and clamor of far-flung settlements where anti-Imperial sentiments fester. But the film is bogged down in engineering the complex maneuverings of spy games, dogfights, and the most sprawling Rebel-versus-Empire land battle scene since the opening of The Empire Strikes Back ." [167] Justin Chang, writing for the Los Angeles Times , called Rogue One "a swiftly paced, rough-and-ready entertainment." [168]
The New York Times wrote, "All the pieces are there, in other words, like Lego figures in a box. The problem is that the filmmakers haven't really bothered to think of anything very interesting to do with them. A couple of 9-year-olds on a screen-free rainy afternoon would come up with better adventures, and probably also better dialogue." [169] Richard Brody of The New Yorker called the film "lobotomized and depersonalized," and wrote it "isn't so much a movie as a feature-length promotional film for itself; it's a movie that is still waiting to be made." [170] The Washington Post wrote "Rogue One represents an unobjectionable exercise in franchise extension. It's fine. It'll do. For now." [171]
IndieWire's David Ehrlich gave the film a C+ rating, calling it "a spirited but agonizingly safe attempt to expand cinema's most holy blockbuster franchise and keep the wheels greased between proper installments ... just a glorified excuse to retcon some sense into one of the silliest things about the original." While he praised the set design and visuals, calling them "gorgeous," he criticized a lack of interesting character development and a script that felt "completely constricted by its purpose." [172]
Peter Bradshaw, film critic of The Guardian said: "Rogue One doesn't really go rogue at any stage, and it isn't a pop culture event like The Force Awakens, in whose slipstream this appears; part of its charm resides in the eerie, almost dreamlike effect of continually producing familiar elements, reshuffled and reconfigured, a reaching back to the past and hinting at a preordained future. There are some truly spectacular cameos from much-loved personae, involving next-level digital effects—almost creepily exact, so that watching feels at various stages like going into a time machine, back to the 80s and 70s." [173] Mark Kermode also writing for The Guardian gave the film 4 out of 5 stars praising the diversity of the cast as "Rogue One offers a welcome reminder of sci-fi’s power to envisage worlds in which race and gender barriers do not apply". He compared the film positively to Aliens as both are sci-fi war films with a strong female lead. He also praised the cinematography of the battle scenes which he said evoked images of the Normandy landings and the Vietnam War. [174]
Rogue One introduced many new characters into the Star Wars mythology, with Chirrut Îmwe, played by Donnie Yen, and K-2SO, played by Alan Tudyk, being the most popular. In a poll on the official Star Wars website in May 2017, in which more than 50,000 people voted, Chirrut Îmwe was voted as the most popular Rogue One character. [175]
George Lucas was reported to have enjoyed the film more than The Force Awakens ; upon hearing this, Edwards said, "I can die happy now." [176]
The film was praised for its exploration of ethics in engineering; in a reviewer's words, "the core ethical arc of the film is one man's decision to engineer the Death Star in such a way as to prevent its use for galactic domination. One could fairly re-title the movie to 'Rogue One: an Engineering Ethics Story.'" [177] [178] [179]
A writer for the military news website Task & Purpose lauded Rogue One as the Star Wars film that best reflects real military experience. Many details, James Seddon writes, resonate with his own 21 years of service in the U.S. Navy:
I don't know if they used military veterans as consultants, but Rogue One manages to exude military authenticity. The spacecraft rattle annoyingly. Places where hands would naturally grab, or gear would rub, have the paint worn off. Cockpit windows are scratched, and, if the sunlight hits them wrong, they are hard to see through. Headphones get hung on a convenient grab rail and not on the hanger designed for them—if there even was a hanger. Apparently, designers of military vehicles in galaxies far, far, away have also never actually operated them in the field. Vehicle movement creates uncomfortable levels of dust. These are all things that will immediately seem "real" to military veterans.
He also pointed to aspects beyond the film's production design, like Rebel Lt. Sefla's muzzle discipline, the "bitter stoicism" predominant among characters who "spend most of their time wet, uncomfortable, afraid, and bickering" even as they work diligently to complete their mission, and the moral ambiguity of some of the Rebel's actions. [180]
While much of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) received praise, some news organizations published criticism about certain aspects, including the visual effects (VFX) that were used to revive Peter Cushing, who had died in 1994, as Grand Moff Tarkin. [181] The Guardian's Catherine Shoard described the "resurrection" as a "digital indignity." [182] Joseph Walsh of The Guardian raised legal and ethical issues about bringing a long-dead actor to life. [183] Lucasfilm had obtained permission from Cushing's estate before deciding to use his likeness. [105] The Washington Times' Eric Althoff rejected the entire concept of using CGI to recreate a deceased actor: "Alas, what we get is, basically, not a simulation, but an approximation of a simulation—a dead character portrayed by a living actor inhabiting not the character, but imitating the dead actor." [184]
Some journalists also criticized the quality of the CGI that was used to represent a younger Carrie Fisher in order to portray Princess Leia at an earlier time, as well as its suitability in movie-making. [30] [31] Eliana Dockterman of Time wrote that "there was something particularly plastic about this version of the young Carrie Fisher—so smooth and so perfect it couldn't be real—that pulled me out of the moment." [185] Kelly Lawler of USA Today said: "... while Tarkin is merely unnerving, the Leia cameo is so jarring as to take the audience completely out of the film at its most emotional moment. Leia's appearance was meant to help the film end on a hopeful note (quite literally, as 'hope' is her line), but instead it ends on a weird and unsettling one." [186] Michael Cavna of The Washington Post described the facial effect as feeling "distractingly artificial and nearly alien, like a plastered death mask robbed of authentic actorly effect, well beyond the usual artifice of Botox." [187] For her part, Fisher was shown the CGI rendition of her younger self for the film by Kathleen Kennedy and "loved it." [188]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards | February 26, 2017 | Best Sound Mixing | David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson | Nominated | [189] |
Best Visual Effects | Neil Corbould, Hal Hickel, John Knoll and Mohen Leo | Nominated | |||
British Academy Film Awards | February 12, 2017 | Best Makeup and Hair | Amanda Knight, Neal Scanlan and Lisa Tomblin | Nominated | [190] |
Best Special Visual Effects | Neil Corbould, Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Mohen Leo and Nigel Sumner | Nominated | |||
Cinema Audio Society Awards | February 18, 2017 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture – Live Action | Joel Iwataki, Nick Kray, David Parker, Frank Rinella, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson | Nominated | [191] |
Costume Designers Guild Awards | February 21, 2017 | Excellence in Fantasy Film | David Crossman and Glyn Dillon | Nominated | [192] |
Dragon Awards | September 3, 2017 | Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie | Rogue One | Nominated | [193] |
Empire Awards | March 19, 2017 | Best Film | Won | [194] | |
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Nominated | ||||
Best Actress | Felicity Jones | Won | |||
Best Male Newcomer | Riz Ahmed | Nominated | |||
Best Director | Gareth Edwards | Won | |||
Best Costume Design | Rogue One | Nominated | |||
Best Production Design | Nominated | ||||
Best Make-Up and Hairstyling | Nominated | ||||
Best Visual Effects | Nominated | ||||
Hugo Awards | August 11, 2017 | Best Dramatic Presentation – Long form | Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy | Nominated | [195] |
Location Managers Guild Awards | April 8, 2017 | Outstanding Locations in Period Film | Mark Somner and David O'Reily | Nominated | [196] |
Outstanding Film Commission | "Jedha" – Royal Film Commission Jordan | Won | |||
MTV Movie & TV Awards | May 17, 2017 | Movie of the Year | Rogue One | Nominated | [197] |
Best Hero | Felicity Jones | Nominated | |||
Ray Bradbury Award | May 20, 2017 | Outstanding Dramatic Presentation | Chris Weitz, Tony Gilroy and Gareth Edwards | Nominated | [198] |
Saturn Awards | June 28, 2017 | Best Science Fiction Film | Rogue One | Won | [199] |
Best Director | Gareth Edwards | Won | |||
Best Writing | Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Felicity Jones | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Diego Luna | Nominated | |||
Best Music | Michael Giacchino | Nominated | |||
Best Editing | John Gilroy, Colin Goudie and Jabez Olssen | Nominated | |||
Best Production Design | Doug Chiang and Neil Lamont | Nominated | |||
Best Costume Design | David Crossman and Glyn Dillon | Nominated | |||
Best Make-up | Amy Byrne | Nominated | |||
Best Special Effects | Neil Corbould, Hal Hickel, John Knoll and Mohen Leo | Won | |||
Teen Choice Awards | August 13, 2017 | Choice Sci-Fi Movie | Rogue One | Nominated | [200] |
Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actor | Diego Luna | Nominated | |||
Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actress | Felicity Jones | Nominated | |||
Visual Effects Society Awards | February 7, 2017 | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature | Neil Corbould, Erin Dusseault, Hal Hickel, John Knoll and Nigel Sumner | Nominated | [201] |
Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature | "Grand Moff Tarkin" – Cyrus Jam, Sven Jensen, Jee Young Park and Steve Walton | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature | "Scarif Complex" – Enrico Damm, Yanick Dusseault, Kevin George and Olivier Vernay-Kim | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project | "Space Battle" – Steve Ellis, Barry Howell, Euising Lee and John Levin | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project | "Princess Leia" – Paul Giacoppo, Gareth Jensen, James Tooley and Todd Vaziri | Nominated | |||
"Star Destroyer" – Marko Chulev, Steven Knipping, Jay Machado and Akira Orikasa | Nominated | ||||
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature | "Jedha Destruction" – Luca Mignardi, Ciaran Moloney, Matt Puchala and Miguel Perez Senent | Nominated |
On November 8, 2018, it was announced that a live-action prequel series was officially in development and set to air on Disney's streaming service, Disney+. The series takes place five years before the events in Rogue One and focuses on Cassian Andor with Diego Luna reprising the role. [202] It was released on September 21, 2022. [203]
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the Star Wars space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of obliterating entire planets, and serves to enforce the Empire's reign of terror. Appearing in the original 1977 film Star Wars, the Death Star serves as the central plot point and setting for the movie, and is destroyed in an assault by the Rebel Alliance during the climax of the film, with the 2016 prequel film Rogue One and the 2022 television series Andor exploring its construction. A larger second Death Star is being built in the events of the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, featuring substantially improved capabilities compared to its predecessor, before it is destroyed by the Rebel Alliance while under construction.
Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, introduced as the main antagonist of the original 1977 Star Wars film, in which he was played by Peter Cushing. In the film, Tarkin is depicted as a high-ranking officer of the Galactic Empire, placed in charge of the operations on the Death Star, the Empire's moon–sized battle station. He orders the destruction of the planet Alderaan by the station's superlaser, and dies at the end of the film when the Death Star is destroyed by Luke Skywalker.
The Rebel Alliance is a fictional organization in the Star Wars franchise. The Alliance is portrayed as a stateless coalition of rebel dissidents and defectors who oppose the Galactic Empire and its authoritarian rule. Its stated goal is to restore the liberal governance of the previous Galactic Republic, which had been dissolved after its leader Palpatine seized absolute power and declared himself emperor. It is the main protagonistic faction of the original Star Wars trilogy.
The Battle of Yavin takes place in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It pits the Galactic Empire against the Rebel Alliance around the gas giant planet Yavin and its fourth moon.
Mon Mothma is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, primarily portrayed by Genevieve O'Reilly. Introduced as the leader of the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi (1983), in which she is played by Caroline Blakiston, Mon has become a prominent character in subsequent prequel media, including the anthology film Rogue One (2016), the animated series The Clone Wars (2010) and Star Wars Rebels (2017), and the live-action television series Andor (2022–present). The character also appeared in the 2023 live-action television series Ahsoka, again portrayed by O'Reilly, her first time playing the character in sequel media set after Return of the Jedi.
Yavin is a fictional planet in the Star Wars galaxy. It first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars and is depicted as a large red gas giant with an extensive satellite system of moons. The hidden military base of the Rebel Alliance is located on its fourth moon, Yavin 4.
Duncan Pow is a Scottish actor. He is known in the United Kingdom for television roles in the Sky 1 series Dream Team, and the BBC One series Holby City. He is known internationally for his role as Ruescott Melshi in the Star Wars film Rogue One and the Disney+ prequel series Andor.
Star Wars Battlefront is an action shooter video game developed by DICE, with additional work from Criterion Games, and published by Electronic Arts in November 2015. The game, based on the Star Wars film franchise, is the third major release in the Star Wars: Battlefront sub-series, but is considered a reboot to the previous games, instead of a sequel, to reflect the new Star Wars canon that Lucasfilm established after being acquired by The Walt Disney Company.
Jyn Erso is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by English actress Felicity Jones in the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Jyn aids the Rebel Alliance in a desperate attempt to steal the plans to the Death Star, a weapon of the Galactic Empire with enough power to destroy an entire planet. The character was introduced as a child in the 2016 prequel novel Catalyst by James Luceno.
Saw Gerrera is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was originally introduced as a minor character in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, where he was voiced by Andrew Kishino. He was subsequently played by Forest Whitaker in the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, who went on to voice the character in the animated series Star Wars Rebels and the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and reprises the role in live-action in the television series Andor. Saw also appears in The Clone Wars spin-off Star Wars: The Bad Batch, with Kishino reprising his role.
Cassian Jeron Andor, born Kassa, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, primarily portrayed by actor Diego Luna. Introduced in the feature film Rogue One (2016) as a co-lead, he is the protagonist of the ongoing prequel television series Andor (2022–present).
Director Orson Callan Krennic is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn in the 2016 film Rogue One as the main antagonist. Krennic is the Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Galactic Empire, and was introduced in the 2016 prequel novel Catalyst by James Luceno.
Star Wars: Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel is a science-fiction novel written by James Luceno that was published on November 15, 2016. It is set in the Star Wars universe and takes place in the time period from the Clone Wars to a couple years after Revenge of the Sith, serving as a prelude to the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It relates the story of the Galactic Republic's and later the Galactic Empire's project to develop its superweapon, the Death Star. The novel serves to create a backstory both to Rogue One and the original Star Wars (1977).
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the soundtrack album to the 2016 film Rogue One directed by Gareth Edwards, which is the first instalment in the Star Wars anthology series. Originally, Alexandre Desplat was hired for the film score but was replaced by Michael Giacchino during the film's post-production. Giacchino scored the film within a span of the month, despite the tight schedule, and had incorporated John Williams' themes from previous Star Wars films into the score, having minor elements, while most of the themes were newly composed. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on December 16, 2016, coinciding with the film's theatrical release.
K-2SO is a droid character in the Star Wars franchise, first appearing in the 2016 film Rogue One. He is a CGI character voiced and portrayed through motion capture by Alan Tudyk. In the film, K-2SO is a reprogrammed Imperial security droid and the co-pilot of Cassian Andor.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a novelization by Alexander Freed of the 2016 film of the same name.
Andor, also known as Star Wars: Andor, is an American science fiction television series created by Tony Gilroy for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise and a prequel to the film Rogue One (2016), which in turn is a prequel to the original Star Wars film (1977). The series follows thief-turned-rebel spy Cassian Andor during the five years that lead to the events of the two films, exploring how he becomes radicalized against the Galactic Empire and how the wider Rebel Alliance is formed.
The Guardians of the Whills are a faction in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise. The Guardians are depicted as an organization of ascetics who revere the Force, a metaphysical concept in the Star Wars fictional universe, though unlike the Jedi or the Sith, they do not appear to wield overtly supernatural powers derived from their connection to the Force.
While the actor has the body role, just like his predecessor in the original Star Wars films David Prowse, the voice of Lord Vader is actor James Earl Jones.
Jonathan Aris will play Senator Jebel. Nope, we have no idea who that is either.
Rogue One's original ending was one such cutting-room casualty.
The revelation that the original ending was much different probably explains a lot about how different the trailers were from the final product. Fans have noticed many scenes in the original spots did not appear in the final film.
Among the largest sets built at Pinewood was the mountainous planet of Eadu
During our sit down with ... Gareth Edwards ... old lenses and new digital environments.
This event contrasted the analog technologies developed for the first STAR WARS released in 1977 with the all-digital toolsets used to create ROGUE ONE released in 2016.
... the effect ends up showing the limitations of the technology. It's also distracting: As you ponder what, exactly, is off about this not-human-enough figure—something in the facial movements—you begin to lose track of the plot.
... [Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm] showed it to her. So, I got a call afterwards from Kathy saying, 'Well, Carrie loved it.'
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)