Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has already distinguished itself from the previous Star Wars cinematic entries by being the first of the "Anthology" spinoff movies and taking on a grittier tone. However, it also drew a lot of attention earlier this year for its summer reshoots, as reports and rumors raged back and forth about just how much of the movie was being changed. That clamor has since died down, but with three months to go until Rogue One's release, another behind-the-scenes changed has been revealed, with the movie getting a new composer.
The Grand Budapest Hotel's Alexandre Desplat was originally supposed to score Rogue One, but THR just dropped the news that Michael Giacchino has been hired to replace him. The reason for the switch was the recent reshoots, which subsequently altered the scoring schedule and resulted in Desplat no longer being available. Since Giacchino had already worked on various projects at Disney and its other divisions, the company decided to bring him aboard to take on the job. Giacchino is the first person to score a live action Star Wars movie other than John Williams, who is keeping himself busy with the new sequel trilogy.
While Rogue One marks Michael Giacchino's first time scoring a Star Wars movie, it isn't his first time working on something connected to the franchise. He previously wrote the music for the Star Tours -- The Adventures Continue attraction at the various Disney theme parks. Fun fact, Giacchino also cameoed as a stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was directed by his friend J.J. Abrams. Outside of a galaxy far, far away, his music can be heard in blockbusters like The Incredibles, the Star Trek reboot series, Ratatouille, Up, Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, Jurassic World, and Zootopia. His other upcoming theatrical contributions include Doctor Strange (his first Marvel movie), War for the Planet of the Apes and The Incredibles 2.
Taking place shortly before the events of A New Hope, Rogue One will follow Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso and her Rebel allies as they attempt to secure the plans for the Death Star while avoiding Imperial director Orson Krennic's (played by Ben Mendelsohn) forces. The movie's reshoots lasted for five weeks this past summer, and were managed by Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy (who also contributed rewrites). While early rumors claimed up to 40% of Rogue One would be reshot, Disney later stated that the changes primarily had to do with "clarity and character development." Gilroy is also reportedly working on the final cut of the movie with director Gareth Edwards, so the two of them will presumably be listening to Michael Giacchino's music together and deciding which tunes go in, one of the last post-production tasks that needs to be completed.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be released in theaters on December 16.
