How Rogue One Almost Changed A Classic Star Wars Line

Rogue One A Star Wars Story

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There are two classic Star Wars lines that are repeated in just about every Star Wars movie: "May the Force be with you" and "I've got a bad feeling about this." Both were used by all of the films in the original trilogy, and thus it became a sort of tradition to include them in each of the subsequent productions.

This extends to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which also features the pair of lines – but the latter interestingly has a bit of trivia behind it. Not only is the instance where "I've got a bad feeling about this" is said cut off in the movie, as Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso try to stop K2SO from being a jinx on their mission to transmit the Death Star plans, but there were early drafts that went in a totally different direction with the dialogue and turned the phrase on its ear with a, "I've got a good feeling about this."

IGN recently hosted a Rogue One: A Star Wars Story watch party with screenwriters Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz, with everyone broadcasting from the safety of their own homes, and it was Whitta who revealed that one of the iconic Star Wars lines in the film was almost changed. Asked about it by a viewer posting in the comments section, the writer said,

I had a different version of it where Jyn said, before they went on the mission they were always very nervous, Jyn said, ‘I’ve got a good feeling about this.’ which we cut, and then ended up being... I wanted to reference it without actually saying the line. We ended up doing it in a different way.

One can remain curious about how this line would have played, but the good news is that "I've got a bad feeling about this" gets a great reaction in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and plays really well.

It's also worth noting that the idea has been subsequently used in the Star Wars universe – specifically by the only other feature that possesses the A Star Wars Story subtitle. Alden Ehrenreich's Han Solo says the line "I've got a good feeling about this" while piloting the Millennium Falcon in Solo: A Star Wars Story... and don't think that that didn't catch Gary Whitta's attention. Said the writer during the live chat:

I thought it was kinda funny that they ended up using that line in Solo: ‘I’ve got a good feeling about this.’ Sooner or later someone was going to use it.

From a larger perspective, it makes sense that the two live-action movies made outside of the Skywalker Saga would have their own individual takes on the classic line. Maybe its a new tradition that can be started with all non-saga Star Wars movies, with each of them finding their own new spin on the quote.

For those of you who are now getting an itch to watch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the film is available from digital retailers for purchase, and available to stream for Disney+ subscribers (If you don't have a subscription already, you can use this link for a free 7-day trial to the streaming service.)

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.