Although it was released back in December, we still haven't stopped dissecting and discussing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film successfully bridged the gap between A New Hope and the prequel trilogy, while also proving that a standalone film could make buckets of cash at the box office. Overall, Rogue One was a total triumph, but now it appears that Gareth Edwards does have a major regret about the film. And it's enough to break your heart.
Gareth Edwards recently spoke to The Telegraph about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It was there that he revealed his big regret: not being able to speak with Carrie Fisher before her untimely death.
I just feel the whole thing was, to be honest, one big love letter to Carrie. What we're doing with the entire movie is all building to that one moment [of the Death Star plans being handed to Princess Leia] where we hand the baton to her, to go off and make that film that inspired us all as kids. So it couldn't have ended better from that point of view. It's just sad -- I was always thinking that I would get to meet her and talk to her at some point about it, and I never really met her properly. I walked past her once on the set of Episode VII, I was meeting some of the crew, and she walked past me, and I had a little fanboy freakout.
Well, isn't that sweet? Let's break down exactly what Gareth Edwards has said.
To start, it's very touching (and a bit surprising) that he believes Rogue One was a love letter to Carrie Fisher. While almost the entire runtime was dedicated to Jyn Erso and her motley crew of rebels, the final moments of the film were a giant payoff for hardcore Star Wars fans. Because in addition to finally seeing Darth Vader in all his murderous glory, the film ended with a CGI recreated Princess Leia receiving the plans to destroy the Death Star. So truly, the film all did build up to a digitally created Carrie Fisher.
It's a shame that Gareth Edwards wasn't able to truly meet Carrie Fisher. After recreating her likeness for Rogue One's ending, it would make sense that Edwards would want to speak with Fisher about his directorial choice. He didn't exactly ask permission, but Fisher had stated she enjoyed the little cameo, so at least there's that.
Honestly, I can't really blame Gareth Edwards for being too intimidated to meet Carrie Fisher when he had the chance. She shaped the adolescence of entire generations, and it's never easy to meet your heroes.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is now available on Demand.
