Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Has An Opening Crawl Out There Somewhere

03/13/2017 07:45 pm EDT

When you watch a Star Wars movie, you expect to see an opening crawl; It's how things work. However, the trend was bucked last year when Lucasfilm debuted its first standalone film. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story did not include an opening crawl, and fans were left puzzled by the sudden change. While the crew of Rogue One did its best to defend the omission, fans continue to question what might have been included in the crawl with some even going so far as to write their own stand-ins. But, really, they don't need to.

If they were to ask Gary Whitta nicely, the screenwriter may be able to slip them the crawl he originally wrote for them film.

That's right! When Rogue One was being written, an opening crawl for the film was penned as well. Fans have known from some time now what Whitta intended the movie to have the iconic text precede it, but they now have confirmation a whole spiel was written.

The news came from none other than director Gareth Edwards today. Over on Reddit, the man sat down for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session where he was asked about the crawl. It was there Edwards confirmed a draft of the original crawl is out there somewhere.

"Gary Whitta actually wrote one in the first draft," Edwards said. "You'll have to pester him for it ;) ... I do believe that those opening crawl words are actually floating out there in space somewhere."

Directed by Gareth Edwards, it's the first of the new standalone features from Lucasfilm and Disney, which take place outside the core "Skywalker Saga" of films noted by an Episode number. Rogue One tells the story of the small band of rebels that were tasked with stealing the plans to the first Death Star.

The story spins directly off the opening crawl from the original Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. In that crawl, it read: "Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet."

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• Rogue One Passes Captain America: Civil War At The Box Office
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• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Easter Eggs and References

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