Disney made a big move when it acquired Lucasfilm, and the ability to create new Star Wars movies. In addition to the main installments, the House of Mouse broke new ground by creating standalone films, the first of which being Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Gareth Edwards' spinoff bridged the gap between the prequels and A New Hope, including the creation of the first Death Star by Ben Mendelsohn's Orson Krennic.
Rogue One suffered from tons of rumors around its reshoots, with many believing the studio intervened to change aspects of Gareth Edwards' movie. But according to Ben Mendelsohn, they were par for the course. As he recently said,
I wasn't either of those, it was just a case, from my point of view, that they were going to be working multiple units. Gareth was writing and then he would come and film some things and Tony was shooting his material. To me it's a collaborative business, and this was just business as usual, and I'm so proud of that one.
While the fandom and public worried about the first Star Wars standalone film, it looks like Ben Mendelsohn was never alarmed when playing his villainous character. In fact, he maintains its the project he's the most proud of. Looks like Mendelsohn is truly loyal to The Empire.
Ben Mendelsohn's comments to THR paint a better picture of what it was like on the set of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Star Wars movies are absolutely massive, and there are a ton of moving pieces to get each new blockbuster in the can. As such, reshoots and a variety of directors were always on the table for the actor. So he just went to work and brought Orson Krennic to life everyday.
Over the past few years, reshoots have become a hot button issue in the world of blockbusters, and a triggering concept for the fandom. Plenty of major franchises have seen director shakeups, with reshoots resulting in a movie that was less than stellar, and a bit disjointed in regards to vision. One can look to both Justice League and Solo: A Star Wars Story as examples, where two visions seem to clash into one movie.
Still, reshoots are pretty standard for major release like Star Wars or superhero movies. And Rogue One ended up being a critical and financial success, with cutting edge CGI bringing back characters like Carrie Fisher's Leia and Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin. That legacy will grow with Disney's upcoming streaming service, as Diego Luna's Cassian Andor will be getting his own live-action TV series.
It's currently unclear if the Star Wars franchise will continue with standalone films, after Solo was a box office disappointment. The next installment in the galaxy far, far away is J.J. Abrams' Episode IX on December 20th, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
