Reshoots. Every major film does them (reportedly), but few like to talk about them, for some odd reason. It's almost like fans are upset when a filmmaker tries to go back and correct something that isn't working, making a story seamless before it hits theaters. Which is why Hollywood often tries to avoid revealing HOW the sausage gets made. Just enjoy the sausage! (No more food in this metaphor.) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story made waves when reshoots were revealed, but star Felicity Jones downplays the reason for their existence, saying:
Obviously when you come to the edit, you see the film come together and you think, 'Actually, we could do this better, and this would make more sense if we did this.' I've done it so many times. I mean, you wouldn't just give your first draft on this story, would you?
By first draft, she was referring to the article written by THR columnist Tatiana Siegel, who was interviewing Felicity Jones on behalf of Inferno, A Monster Calls and, of course, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Needless to say, Jones is experiencing a significant moment, with three massive movies set to reach theaters before year's end. But it was the reshoots assigned to Gareth Edwards' Rogue One that had fandom concerned. Maybe it's because Suicide Squad had also undergone reshoots -- for reasons we'll never full understand. Or it's because fandom isn't sure what to expect out of Rogue One, the first non-saga spinoff experiment of this new Disney/Lucasfilm collaboration.
As Kathleen Kennedy recognizes, the fact that it's Star Wars is the sole reason fans are concerned. She tells THR:
I'm sure if you picked up the phone and called every single large, technical movie and said, 'You ever gone in and done reshoots?' they'd all say, 'Oh God, yes.' So why has it turned into a big story? Because it's Star Wars, and they put a spotlight and scrutinize every single thing that gets done. But it was always planned and nothing unusual.
The old "business as usual" line. And I actually believe it. These cruise ships are too massive to turn on a dime, and if a filmmaker sees that something can be punched up and enhanced with reshoots, why wouldn't you?
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story goes back along the Star Wars timeline to a moment before the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope. In the film, we will meet Jyn Erso (Jones), a member of the Rebellion who'll be tasked with retrieving the Death Star construction plans so that Rebel forces can figure out how to blow the damn thing up. Erso's father (Mads Mikkelsen) might be responsible for the design of the Death Star, which helps explain why Jyn gets involved.
Unless reshoots changed everything. We will find out when Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on December 16.
