In the six years since Rogue One: A Star Wars Story landed in theaters, countless rumors and reports have emerged about how the theatrical cut of the film was different from other versions of the adventure, which included at least one rumor that Darth Vader killed off the main figures of the movie. Despite the various changes to the project in its development and production, star Diego Luna confirmed that, regardless of the rumors, the finale of the film played out as director Gareth Edwards had intended. There are a number of confirmed changes that the film experienced, yet Luna claimed the ending is in line with Edwards’ original plan.
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“The first time I was asked to sit down with the director, in Los Angeles, I was asked into a restaurant, and the restaurant was empty. He was giving his back to the wall with his computer open and he asked me to sit down next to him,” Luna recalled to The Sith Council. “He started telling me a story and kept saying, ‘And then this guy, and then this girl, and then this guy…’ And started showing me drawings and concept art, and then at the end, I was like, ‘Why is he phrasing it that way?’ And he goes, ‘I want you to play the guy.’ Then he said, ‘If you want to, now we have to convince everyone else, but I would love to do this with you.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, perfect.’ And the story he pitched me is the one we saw, in terms of beginning and end. Many things changed along the way, but not the end.”
Vader did appear in the film in what might be its most memorable sequence, as the Sith Lord’s stroll down a hallway as he wiped out a number of Rebel troopers is the most violent showcase of his brutality. While Luna confirmed that the ending wasn’t changed, Edwards himself previously revealed one change made to the ending was the inclusion of such a sequence, which wasn’t originally planned.
“He arrives and obliterates the Calamari ship, and then the blockade runner gets out just in time and he pursues the blockade runner. And then [editor] Jabez [Olssen] was like, ‘I think we need to get Darth on that ship,’ and I thought, yeah, that’s a brilliant idea and would love to do it, but there’s no way they’re going to let us do it,” Edwards recalled to Fandango back in 2017. “It’s a big number and we had, what, like three or four months before release. [Lucasfilm president] Kathy [Kennedy] came in and Jabez thought, f-ck it, and pitched her this idea, and she loved it. Suddenly within a week or two, we were at Pinewood shooting that scene.”
Edwards added, “Because it was my last chance to do Star Wars, and because you know it’s the end, we really were very careful with it. We storyboarded absolutely everything and tried to have no regrets.”
Luna is currently filming Season 2 of Star Wars: Andor.
What do you think of the actor’s remarks? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
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Image courtesy of Walt Disney Animation
