The Star Wars franchise is no stranger to a variety of special effects. The production team has used everything from fancy makeup tricks to tiny models, green screens and CGI to create is wild cast of characters and fantastic science fiction images. Now, though, after using a lot of computer based special effects for the prequels, the producers seem to have gone back to using those hand made models and real locations for the popular space ships and places that populate that wild and weird world. And, actor Alan Tudyk, who's part of the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story cast, has some very specific ideas about how that's helping the movie.
You are amazed at what you can look at, because it is a physical world. If there are creatures, then there are creatures; if there are spaceships, then there are spaceships. It's not huge swaths of green hung from the rafters. You have it all there, and if you don't have it there then you go fly some place that does.
That sentiment comes via The Hollywood Reporter. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Star Wars sort-of prequel debuts in theaters on December 16 of next year. Most of the film’s plot is largely under wraps, including Tudyk’s role in it.
Rouge One is the second in a pretty long line of planned (and guaranteed to happen) Star Wars films that will be released between this December and sometime in 2019. Three of these movies are straight ahead sequels, while two, including Rouge One and a currently untitled Han Solo anthology film, will focus on other aspects of the Star Wars universe.
Alan Tudyk is quite used to odd characters from his work as a co-star in a wide variety of movies and television shows, along with his voice work in several animated films and video games. The man has played everything from a moody and murderous robot (I, Robot) to a spaceship pilot (Firefly) and a dodgeball playing pirate (Dodgeball). Whatever role Rogue One has in store for him is sure to be a doozy and well played all around.
I happen to think this venture back into real locations, creatures and modes of travel is a pretty solid idea. Part of the magic of the original Star Wars films was the "physical world" that Tudyk talks about. Don’t get me wrong CGI and green screen work do a great job when they’re done correctly, but putting the effort into creating real things that actors can play off of just adds something to the process as a whole, and not just because they get to play with real stuff on screen. It also tends to more fully immerse the audience in the world of the film, whatever that world might entail.
Along with getting tons of input from outside writers and directors on these new chapters in the Star Wars universe, I think this move back to the special effects techniques of the first trilogy will do wonders for the series. It’s already a good bet that audiences will be happier with these movies then, uh, some other films based in this world.
