Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Had Alternate Plan For If Tarkin Effects Didn’t Work

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has been a critically and commercial success for Lucasfilm and Disney, but it hasn’t been without some controversy.

To make a film about the theft of the plans for the Death Star set just prior to the events of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the filmmakers felt they must include a role for Grand Moff Tarkin, the Imperial military officer played by Peter Cushing in the original Star Wars movie who was in charge of overseeing the Death Star project

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The problem was that Cushing died in 1994. Lucasfilm decided to cheat death by using the technology of Industrial Light and Magic to recreate Cushing’s likeness digitally and superimpose it on another actor, Guy Henry. While some fans were impressed by the technological feat, others felt this move was in bad taste and, even though it was done with the blessing of Cushing estate, disrespected Cushing’s memory.

But what if the technology hadn’t proven to be up to the task? It turns out the filmmakers had a backup plan.

We did talk about Tarkin participating in conversations via hologram, or transferring that dialogue to other characters,” John Knoll, chief creative officer of Industrial Light & Magic, revealed to the New York Times.

That is likely more in line with what fans would have expected as far as Tarkin’s presence in Rogue One went. Instead, Rogue One featured a much more fully realized Tarkin presence, for better or worse.

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In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is written by Gareth Edwards and written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. The film star Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is now playing in theaters.