Written By Wesley Younger
There isn't a more formidable force in cinematic fandom that that of Star Wars. It's been growing for almost 40 years with each generation adding millions of new fans.
One of the favorite pastimes of Star Wars fans is the endless debates and speculation that the Star Wars Universe offers. The Galaxy far far away is so rich in character and story that the most minute morsel of detail can bring forth hours of passionate deliberation. A 3:00 am breakfast at Denny's between Star Wars geeks can look like a parliamentary filibuster on C-Span. Sometimes entire hypothetical plots have been concocted by the most obscure characters or settings.
It is in that spirit Rogue One: A Star Wars story was brought to life.
LucasFilm chief creative officer John Knoll was a visual effects coordinator for the Star Wars prequels as well as countless other blockbusters, and one of the originators of Photoshop. In 2012 he pitched the idea of Rogue One to Kathleen Kennedy based on a line from the opening crawl of the very first Star Wars film A New Hope.
"During the battle, rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR."
To me this is a genius idea and I believe I can speak for most Star Wars fans when I say it's an idea we have all speculated on. It's the very action that sets everything we love about Star Wars into motion. The catalyst that prompts Darth Vader and Imperial Forces to attack Princess Leia's ship. It's the desperation of Princess Leia that causes her to hide the stolen plans in her Astromech Droid R2-D2 and send him to Tatooine with his bumbling companion C-3PO to deliver the plans to Obi Wan Kenobi, her only hope. It's those series of events that ultimately enters Luke Skywalker into the fold.
The question is how did the Rebel spies do it? And who are these rebel spies? Are they the Bothans Mon Mothma mentioned? What battle did the Rebels win and how did that effect the acquisition of these plans? So many nuggets of curiosity packed in that one line written almost 40 years ago.
So now with the help of Lawrence Kasdan, Kathleen Kennedy and Director Gareth Edwards Disney prepares to make the very first Star Wars film not directly centered around the Skywalker saga (unless you include that God awful 80's Ewok movie).
Here are some things I'd like to see in Rogue One:
1.) An Identity for the Anthology films.
In an interview with the Costco Connection of all places Kathleen Kennedy said this in regards to future Star Wars projects:
"The Saga films focus on the Skywalker family saga. The stories follow a linear narrative that connects to the previous six films. The Force Awakens follows Return of the Jedi and continues that generational story. The Anthology films offer opportunities to explore fresh characters, new storylines and a variety of genres inside the Star Wars universe."
One of the major challenges Disney will have with creating Rogue One is identity. Disney will have to establish that this is still the Star Wars universe we've all grown to love without using all the tropes that identify with the saga films. Certain traditions such as saying "I have a bad feeling about this" and Wilhelm Screams can stick around as well as the universal facts like the roar of a Tie-Fighter and the horrible aim of Stormtroopers.
However certain Star Wars guarantees such as Lightsaber battles and even the use of the force may have to take a backseat in order expand the universe and explore different types of heroes and villains.
One major change already guaranteed is the score. It's almost blasphemous to think of a Star Wars film not being scored by the legendary John Williams but Disney has hired Alexandre Desplat (The King's Speech) to score Rogue One. A familiar sounding Star Wars score without some of the signature themes would be one way to put you in the Star Wars universe while letting you know this isn't same old same old.
Personally I think it would be great if the film started with the iconic blue text
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....
But hit you with a completely different piece of music than the Star Wars theme. We could still get an opening crawl preceded by the Star Wars logo but make a subtle but dramatic change by making the text red. All of these things could go a long way in establishing identity.
In an interview with the Costco Connection of all places Kathleen Kennedy said this in regards to future Star Wars projects:
"The Saga films focus on the Skywalker family saga. The stories follow a linear narrative that connects to the previous six films. The Force Awakens follows Return of the Jedi and continues that generational story. The Anthology films offer opportunities to explore fresh characters, new storylines and a variety of genres inside the Star Wars universe."
One of the major challenges Disney will have with creating Rogue One is identity. Disney will have to establish that this is still the Star Wars universe we've all grown to love without using all the tropes that identify with the saga films. Certain traditions such as saying "I have a bad feeling about this" and Wilhelm Screams can stick around as well as the universal facts like the roar of a Tie-Fighter and the horrible aim of Stormtroopers.
However certain Star Wars guarantees such as Lightsaber battles and even the use of the force may have to take a backseat in order expand the universe and explore different types of heroes and villains.
One major change already guaranteed is the score. It's almost blasphemous to think of a Star Wars film not being scored by the legendary John Williams but Disney has hired Alexandre Desplat (The King's Speech) to score Rogue One. A familiar sounding Star Wars score without some of the signature themes would be one way to put you in the Star Wars universe while letting you know this isn't same old same old.
Personally I think it would be great if the film started with the iconic blue text
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....
But hit you with a completely different piece of music than the Star Wars theme. We could still get an opening crawl preceded by the Star Wars logo but make a subtle but dramatic change by making the text red. All of these things could go a long way in establishing identity.
2.) Dirty, Gritty, War
Director Gareth Edwards hasn't been shy about the fact that Rogue One will be a War Film. "It's called Star WARS" he said at Star Wars celebration. "The absence of the Jedi is omnipresent in the film. It hangs over the whole movie.” Edwards went on to explain.
Its almost unfathomable to watch a Star Wars film without the presence of Jedi but that's what will happen with Rogue One. A rebellion in despair, backs against the wall facing almost certain destruction. In need for A New Hope. “It’s about the fact that god’s not coming to save us, and we’re on our own" said Edwards.
We know before Episode IV the rebellion scores their first victory vs the Empire in some sort of battle. I expect this battle to be the focal point of this film. When on screen the movie will be more similar to the Battlefront video game with a story more similar to Battlefront:Twilight Company.
3.) Darth Vader being a Sith Lord While the omission of Jedi seems to be one of the central themes in Rogue One according to Gareth Edwards, the Sith's role wasn't mentioned.
With the plot taking place just before a New Hope it's hard to believe we won't see Darth Vader and maybe even the Emperor himself making an appearance or even having a central role.
If Vader does appear I believe it will be in more of a supporting role or maybe even a final act appearance. The problem with this is that it's one more battle we know Vader loses. It's obvious the Rebel Alliance steals the Death Star plans because we've seen A New Hope. Disney will have to find a way for the rebels to win that still allows Vader to maintain his badassery.
Maybe Vader kills all the Bothans himself. Or even better the Rogue One heroes are on Alderaan when Tarkin and Vader blow it up with the Death Star.
Either way the writers of Rogue One need to maintain the the threat of Darth Vader for the integrity of the character and the original trilogy. With Brian Muir the original sculptor of Vader's helmet being signed for Rogue One it seems likely we will see Vader on screen again.
As somebody who's not a huge fan of the prequels I believe Rogue One is not only a chance to expand the Universe but to give us the prequels we never got. While we may not get the retelling of the fall of Anakin Skywalker a story with Vader showcasing his strength such as in the book "Lords of the Sith" could make for a memorable cinematic experience.
Rogue One is due for release on December 16th 2016
