Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Reportedly Headed For Expensive Reshoots

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out towards the end of this year, but it looks like the film is [...]

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(Photo: Lucasfilm)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out towards the end of this year, but it looks like the film is going to need a bit more work before its December deadline.

According to Pagesix sources, the film will need to undergo substantial reshoots. The source said specifically: "The execs at Disney are not happy with the movie, and Rogue One will have to go back into four weeks of expensive reshoots in July."

Director Gareth Edwards delivered the final cut of the film, but reports are Rogue One isn't testing as well as Disney hoped it would, with the source adding: "Disney won't take a back seat, and is demanding changes, as the movie isn't testing well." These match rumors from earlier in the month that Darth Vader would play a larger role with more screentime than initially conceived.

While the studio still has high faith in the director, due to this previous work on Godzilla, the Star Wars banner necessitates that they take no chances, and they aren't as pleased with it as they were with JJ Abrams Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens according to the same source.

A Disney source gave some added insight into the reshoots, saying: "The filmmaking team and the studio always anticipated additional shooting and second unit work to make the film the absolute best it can be, and the actors were aware there would be additional shooting. Coming off 'The Force Awakens,' there's an incredibly high bar for this movie and we have a responsibility to the franchise and to the fans to deliver the best possible movie we can."

The trailer for Rogue One was incredibly well received, and there's probably no real reason to panic, as reshoots occur after filming on a regular basis. Also what these reports seem to ignore entirely is that Disney as an organization doesn't have creative say over final cuts - Lucasfilm, a division of Disney does. Disney's various studios: Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Studios, each have their own organizational structures, and don't typically cede creative decisions to some higher "Disney," the company that owns each of them. That lends a certain level of grain of salt to the entire report - PageSix doesn't mention Lucasfilm as the creative organization a single time.

Rogue One director Gareth Edwards will be featured at the first panel of Star Wars Celebration Europe in July, alongside cast from the film and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, another indication that these reports may be on the exaggerated side.

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