Reshoots. That word has been tossed around a lot this week pertaining to the work being done on Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. And for some, the existence of reshoots is cause to push the panic button. There have been reports on the amount of reshoots (as if that’s a number that can be conjured, a percentage that somehow exists), and there have been conflicting reports claiming that reshoots are business as usual for a production of this size. The truth, as you might imagine, likely rests somewhere in the middle.
Because of the sheer amount of information being fed this way and that with regards to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we reached out to Disney for its comment on the current situation. Here is the studio’s official statement on the Rogue One reshoots:
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.
Indeed. Reshoots are in the film’s best interest. Always. It is never a filmmaker’s intention to conduct reshoots to make their film worse. Why would they? And Rogue One: A Star Wars Story doesn’t come out this weekend. Gareth Edwards, and everyone working tirelessly behind the scenes on the next Star Wars movie, have until December 16 to make sure every frame is as good as it can possibly be. Does this mean that the film, at the moment, is perfect? No, but the reshoots show that Disney, Edwards and Lucasfilm are doing what they can to make it better. Which is what fans should want, right?
Now, here’s where we enter the grey area. What are they doing to make it better? How much are they doing, and, and who is doing it? These are excellent questions, but they aren’t ones we’ll likely get concrete answers to anytime soon. Rarely do we get to see how the sausage gets made, and for good reason. But recently, screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie told SlashFilm that reports he would be overseeing any type of Rogue One reshoots were incorrect, clarifying:
If there are any reshoots on Rogue One, I’m not supervising them. For any outlet to say so is not only wrong, it’s irresponsible. Gareth Edwards is a talented filmmaker who deserves the benefit of the doubt. Making a film – let alone a Star Wars chapter – is hard enough without the internet trying to deliberately downgrade one’s years of hard work. Who does that even serve? Let him make his movie in peace.
Which is all fans can really do. The concept of Rogue One reshoots have been reported, with Disney saying that they were part of the plan. What we all hope is that they lead to improvements to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, because when we finally sit down to that movie in December, we hope to experience the say lift off that we got out of The Force Awakens, and many previous Star Wars story to hit before that. If the movie works, we won’t care how much of it was reshot in the process. We’ll have a great movie, and that’s the point.
