Released in 2016, Rogue One was well received by the audience and movie critics. However, did you know that many scenes and aspects of the storyline were redrafted? Following the release of the first standalone Star Wars movie, there was much controversy about the alleged reshoots and reconceptualization’s of the film that worried the eager viewers. Disney and the directors confirmed these rumours, which only sparked more conversation and worry for avid Star Wars viewers that were already concerned about Disney's overtake of Lucasfilm. If Disney represented Star Wars badly in their first attempt at a movie in this universe, they would have disappointed many, and lost viewership for their future films.

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Before we can understand what happened on set during the creation of Rogue One, we should understand what a reshoot is and why they happen, because they occur more commonly than many viewers may assume. The term 'reshoots' in mostly seen as a derogatory​ term in the filmmaking world as it implies that something went wrong. It is an indicator of a disastrous film production. However, reshoots can be a good thing! The purpose of a reshoot is to make the film and storyline better by adding and removing components so that the movie will flow. But why do they happen? Re-shoots can take place for a matter of reasons. From budget cuts, and narrative reasons - to more behind the scenes matters, like problems in casting the wrong person for the role, and issues in the post-production process. Sometimes it is as simple as the editors believing that the camera angle or positioning could be improved to add a desired cadence to the scene. For example, ‘All the Money in the World’ originally had Kevin Spacey featured in the film. Following the, at the time, recent controversies with Spacey, there was a last-minute attempt to remove his role from the film. Weeks before the release date, the cast were convinced to film re-shoots over the thanksgiving holiday so it could still meet the given released date. And the results were “seamless” (Buchanan, 2017).  Some of the critics favorite films had to include reshoots, including 'E.T. The Extra Terrestrial', 'Suicide Squad', and even the legendary movie 'Back to the Future'. Marty McFly was originally played by a different person all together! This is evidence that reshoots should not strike worry or negative connotations in the film world. Keith Calder, who is known for producing films such as 'Blair Witch' and 'You're Next', said in an interview that "75% of the movies I produced had reshoots, and the 25% without reshoots would have had reshoots if budget and schedule allowed". This shows how common reconceptualization’s are. Calder also mentioned that "100% of the movies I’ve produced that had reshoots were improved by those reshoots" (Scietta, 2016).  Considering this information, reshoots in Rogue One were inevitable, but why was there such a negative response from the audience. What exactly happened on set?

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Having originally been written by Chris Weitz, we saw many shots in the trailers and promos that never made it to the big screen. The most notable of these must be the scene where Jyn and Cassian run along the beaches in an epic race with time. Originally, the communications tower and the Citadel were two separate buildings. What we see in the trailer is the protagonists attempt to get from one building to the other. This was confirmed by director Gareth Edwards. It was also planned that Jyn and Cassian were to die on the beaches, moments after transferring the data to the republic, in the doorway outside the Citadel. This was seen in leaked pictures from on set and grew suspicion on what happened to these scenes and ideas. So, what did happen to this storyline? Gareth Edwards feared that this end-scene was dragging on for too long and the viewer would become bored by the end of it. He dreamed for a more spontaneous and epic finisher. So, with the help of Tony Gilroy, the decision was made to shorten this concept by combining the communications tower and the Citadel, removing the beach scenes that were most anticipated in the trailer. Although many viewers were looking forward to seeing the epic race with time, the average audience response to this re-shoot was positive and the directors were happy making the change. But with this redraft, the deaths of Jyn and Cassian were removed from the story. Therefore, these had to be re-written and more scenes had to be filmed before the movie could air. Chris Weitz idea was for Jyn and Cassian to be rescued from Scarif, surviving the battle, to then be chased into hyperspace by Vader’s star destroyer and later picked off by the hands of Darth Vader himself. Chris feared that his ending would have been too dark, and that Disney would have not allowed for this considering their primarily young viewer base. Tony Gilroy took over at this point, with permission for a dark ending from Disney, and decided not to follow Weitz ideas as he thought the escape would have also dragged on. This scene was shortened, much like the scene before, and took a darker pathway. In the end, Gilroy decided that all the new characters would die on Scarif, making a sacrifice to transfer the plans.

 

In an interview with Gilroy, he explains why the film had re-shoots and why he didn’t agree with Weitz ideas for the ending. In Gilroy’s opinion, the original film was "just in such terrible, terrible trouble that all you can do is improve their position". This tells us that the original film, that didn’t make it to screens, was more of a bore, and needed some personality. Tony showed his confusion with the original storyline in this interview and thought that fixing the film was "very easy to solve". His viewpoint was that "this is a movie where, folks, just look. Everyone is gonna die. So, it’s a movie about sacrifice" (Romano, 2018). This was a theme that Chris wasn't able to get a grasp of because he was fearful that Disney would not allow for a dark ending. But after getting permission, and with Gilroy taking over in screenwriting, the audience were pleased with the further personality implemented within the film through dark tones and pathways towards the ending. 

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Another notable difference from the original film and the final cut is the way Saw Gerrera was represented. In the final film, he is a paranoid militant with greying hair, breathing problems, and a weak cadence. This gives the audience an idea that he has been through a lot, and that it has been a long time since Jyn and Saw have seen each other. However, this isn’t how it started out. As seen in the trailers, this character was to look much younger by being bald, and by having a lack of grey in his beard. There was also a removed dialogue from Saw that cautions Jyn of joining the fight against the Empire, showing that he still cared about Jyn. In the end, Saw was retooled in the reshoots to become a much older and more jaded combatant, and the dialogue was removed as it didn’t feel correct for Saws role.

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How did the original writer, Chris Weitz, react to the reshoots? Weitz said in an interview in 2019 that he "really, really liked it". He mentioned that this was a "huge relief" as he was stressed out about how the film would come out after Gilroy took over. The suspense grew for him and when he finally saw the film and the changes at the premiere, it was mentioned that he would "high-five his co-writers whenever something cool happened". This tells us that even though he didn’t finish the film, he was still proud of it and agreed with Gilroy’s changes. However, Chris did exclaim his confusion as to why some scenes changed. For example, he doesn’t fully understand why K2's death location was altered. This shows how different writers display their work and explains why some writers create conflict when working together. Although, considering the whole project, the original writer really enjoyed the final cut. Weitz explained that one of screenwriters many joys is "to be able to b*tch and moan about what’s been done to their work, but I didn’t have that satisfaction cause I really, really liked it" (Cult Popture, 2019).

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In conclusion, the reshoots of Rogue One, that sparked mass worry to Disney's and Star Wars legacy, were made with the purpose of creating a better storyline and darker ending. Judging by the overall audience reaction, the employment of Tony Gilroy was well worth it to finish the film in a traditional Star Wars manner - enforcing the reoccurring cadence of sacrifice that Chris Weitz could not grasp in the original cut. After changes in storyline, location, pre and postproduction, the hard work from the crew was enough to, in the end, impress Disney, by creating a satisfactory first standalone Star Wars film in the saga.