''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American
epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements
Epic or EPIC may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soc ...
film directed by
Gareth Edwards
Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey".
In 2003, in a poll of international ...
. The screenplay by
Chris Weitz
Christopher John Weitz (born November 30, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Paul on the comedy films '' American Pie'' and '' About a Boy''; the latter earned the Weitz ...
and
Tony Gilroy
Anthony Joseph Gilroy (born September 11, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He wrote the screenplays for the original '' Bourne'' trilogy (2002–2007) and wrote and directed the fourth film of the franchise, '' The Bourne Legacy'' (2012). He also ...
is from a story by
John Knoll and
Gary Whitta. It was produced by
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
and distributed by
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ...
. It is the first installment of the
''Star Wars'' anthology series and an immediate
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term ...
to ''
Star Wars (1977)''. The main cast consists of
Felicity Jones
Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is a British actress. She started her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tel ...
,
Diego Luna
Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''.
Following an early ca ...
,
Ben Mendelsohn,
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...
,
Mads Mikkelsen,
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), '' A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2 ...
,
Riz Ahmed
Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the shor ...
,
Jiang Wen
Jiang Wen (born 5 January 1963) is a Chinese actor, screenwriter, and director. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "Sixth Generation" that emerged in the 1990s. Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred wit ...
, and
Forest Whitaker. Set a week before ''Star Wars'', the plot follows a group of rebels who band together to steal plans of the
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves to e ...
, the ultimate weapon of the
Galactic Empire. It details the
Rebel Alliance's first effective victory against the Empire, first referenced in ''Star Wars''
opening crawl.
Based on an idea first pitched by Knoll ten years before it entered development, the film was made to be different in tone and style from the traditional ''Star Wars'' films, omitting the customary opening crawl and transitional
screen wipes.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
on the film began at
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
, in early August 2015 and wrapped in February 2016. The film then went through extensive
reshoots in . With an estimated production budget of at least $220 million, it is
one of the most expensive films ever made.
''Rogue One'' premiered in Los Angeles on December 10, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 16. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its acting, story, visuals, musical score, and dark tone, but criticism for its pacing, characters, and digital recreations of
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
and
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...
. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it the
20th-highest-grossing film of all time and the
second-highest-grossing film of 2016 during its theatrical run. It received two
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...
nominations for
Best Sound Mixing
The Academy Award for Best Sound is an Academy Awards, Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most phonaesthetics, euphonic Audio mixing (film and television), sound mixing, recording, sound design, and Sound editor (filmmaking), sound edit ...
and
Best Visual Effects
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...
.
''
Andor
Andor may refer to:
* ''Andor'' (TV series), a television series in the ''Star Wars'' universe
**Cassian Andor, the titular character
* Andor (''Wheel of Time''), a country in Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' novels
* Andor Technology, a ...
'', a spin-off prequel television series, debuted on
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...
on September 21, 2022, with Luna, Whitaker,
Genevieve O'Reilly
Genevieve O'Reilly (born 6 January 1977) is an Irish actress. She is known for her work in the ''Star Wars'' franchise as Mon Mothma, having portrayed the character in ''Revenge of the Sith'', ''Rogue One'', and the Disney+ series '' Andor'', a ...
, and
Duncan Pow returning.
Plot
Research scientist
Galen Erso
This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...
and his family are hiding on the planet Lah'mu when
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texas
...
weapons developer
Orson Krennic arrives to press him into completing the
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves to e ...
, a
space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station ...
-based
superweapon
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natur ...
capable of destroying planets. Galen's wife Lyra is killed in the confrontation while their daughter
Jyn escapes and is rescued by rebel extremist
Saw Gerrera.
Thirteen years later, cargo pilot
Bodhi Rook
Bodhi Rook is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who first appeared in 2016 in ''Rogue One'', portrayed by British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed. Bodhi is a former Imperial cargo pilot who, under the influence of Galen Erso, defe ...
defects from the Empire, taking a holographic message recorded by Galen to Gerrera on the desert moon
Jedha.
Rebel Alliance intelligence officer
Cassian Andor learns of Rook's defection and the Death Star from an informant. Jyn is freed from an Imperial labor camp at Wobani and is brought to the Rebel leaders
Bail Organa and
Mon Mothma, who convince her to find and rescue Galen so the Alliance can learn more about the Death Star. Cassian is covertly ordered to aid Jyn, but kill Galen rather than extract him.
Jyn, Cassian, and reprogrammed Imperial
droid
Droid or DROID may refer to:
* A robot, or specifically android (robot)
Entertainment
* Droid (band), an American metal band
* ''Droid'' (film), a 1988 science fiction film
* Droid (''Star Wars''), science fictional machines from the ''Star ...
K-2SO travel to Jedha, the Empire is removing
kyber crystals from the holy city to power the Death Star; Gerrera and his partisans are engaged in an armed insurgency against them. With the aid of blind spiritual warrior
Chirrut ÃŽmwe and his mercenary friend
Baze Malbus
The Guardians of the Whills are a faction in the fictional universe of the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The Guardians are depicted as an organization of ascetics who revere the Force, a metaphysical concept in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe, ...
, Jyn makes contact with Gerrera, who is holding Rook captive. Gerrera shows her the message in which Galen reveals he has secretly built a vulnerability into the Death Star. The schematics detailing this are in an Imperial data bank on the planet
Scarif.
On the Death Star, Krennic orders a low-powered test shot which destroys Jedha's capital. Jyn and her group take Rook and flee the moon, but Gerrera remains to die with the city.
Grand Moff Tarkin congratulates Krennic before using Rook's defection and security leak as a pretext to take control of the project. Rook leads the group to Galen's Imperial research facility on the planet
Eadu, where Cassian chooses not to kill Galen. Moments later, Rebel bombers attack the facility. Galen is wounded and dies in Jyn's arms, before she escapes with her group on a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle. Krennic is summoned by
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the ...
to answer for the Death Star's attack on Jedha. Krennic seeks his support for an audience with the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
, but Vader instead Force-chokes him and orders him to ensure no further breaches occur.
Jyn proposes a plan to steal the Death Star schematics using the Rebel fleet but fails to gain approval from the Alliance Council, who feel victory against the Empire is now impossible. Frustrated at their inaction, Jyn's group lead a small squad of Rebel volunteers to raid the databank. Arriving on Scarif on the stolen Imperial ship, which Rook dubs "Rogue One," a disguised Jyn and Cassian enter the base with K-2SO while the other Rebels attack the
Imperial garrison as a diversion.
The Alliance learns of the raid from intercepted Imperial communications and deploys their fleet in support. K-2SO sacrifices himself so Jyn and Cassian can retrieve the data. ÃŽmwe is killed after activating the master switch to allow communication with the Rebel fleet, and Malbus is killed shortly afterward. Rook is killed by a
grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...
after informing the Rebel fleet that it must deactivate the planetary shield to allow the transmission of the schematics. Rebel
Admiral Raddus uses a Hammerhead corvette to destroy two
Star Destroyers, and the wreckage crashes atop a generator, deactivating the shield. Jyn and Cassian obtain the schematics, but are ambushed by Krennic, who is shot and wounded by Cassian. Jyn transmits the schematics to the Rebel command ship via the base's antenna moments before the Death Star enters orbit above Scarif. Tarkin uses another shot from the Death Star to destroy the antenna, killing Krennic. The impact creates a blast that engulfs the base, killing Cassian, Jyn, and the remaining ground forces.
The Rebel fleet prepares to jump to
hyperspace. However, Admiral Raddus and many of the fleet's ships are intercepted by Vader's Star Destroyer. Vader boards the Rebel command ship and kills many troops in an attempt to regain the schematics, but a starship escapes with them on board. Aboard the fleeing ship,
Princess Leia Organa declares that the schematics will provide hope.
Cast
*
Felicity Jones
Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is a British actress. She started her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tel ...
as
Jyn Erso, a young renegade woman who is detained for her crimes against the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
until she is freed by the
Rebel Alliance to help steal the plans for the Death Star.
** Beau Gadsdon as eight-year-old Jyn
** Dolly Gadsdon as four-year-old Jyn
*
Diego Luna
Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''.
Following an early ca ...
as
Cassian Andor, a Rebel captain and intelligence officer.
*
Ben Mendelsohn as
Orson Krennic, the director of advanced weapons research for the Imperial military.
*
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...
as Chirrut ÃŽmwe, a blind warrior who believes in
the Force. He is said to be one of the
Guardians of the Whills.
*
Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso, Jyn's father and a research scientist.
*
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), '' A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2 ...
as the voice and motion-capture of
K-2SO, a former Imperial enforcer droid who was reprogrammed by Cassian Andor to serve the Rebellion.
*
Riz Ahmed
Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the shor ...
as
Bodhi Rook
Bodhi Rook is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who first appeared in 2016 in ''Rogue One'', portrayed by British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed. Bodhi is a former Imperial cargo pilot who, under the influence of Galen Erso, defe ...
, a former Imperial cargo pilot who defects to the rebels under the influence of Galen Erso.
*
Jiang Wen
Jiang Wen (born 5 January 1963) is a Chinese actor, screenwriter, and director. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "Sixth Generation" that emerged in the 1990s. Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred wit ...
as Baze Malbus, a longtime companion of Chirrut ÃŽmwe and one-time devoted Guardian of the Whills, now a Rebel warrior and mercenary.
*
Forest Whitaker as
Saw Gerrera, a veteran of the
Clone Wars and a friend of the Erso family who had mentored Jyn in her later childhood years.
Jimmy Smits,
Genevieve O'Reilly
Genevieve O'Reilly (born 6 January 1977) is an Irish actress. She is known for her work in the ''Star Wars'' franchise as Mon Mothma, having portrayed the character in ''Revenge of the Sith'', ''Rogue One'', and the Disney+ series '' Andor'', a ...
,
Anthony Daniels, and
Jimmy Vee reprise their roles from previous films as
Bail Organa,
Mon Mothma,
C-3PO,
and
R2-D2,
respectively; Vee is uncredited for his role.
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
also reprises his role from previous films as the voice of
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the ...
,
who is physically portrayed by
Spencer Wilding during the meeting with Krennic and aboard the Star Destroyer, and by Daniel Naprous for the end scene.
Grand Moff Tarkin and
Princess Leia Organa are played by
Guy Henry and
Ingvild Deila, respectively, with the
digital likenesses of
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
and
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...
superimposed.
Henry also provides the voice for Tarkin, while archival audio of Fisher is used for Leia.
Angus MacInnes and
Drewe Henley are featured as Gold Leader Dutch Vander and Red Leader Garven Dreis, respectively, via unused footage from ''
A New Hope''; MacInnes returned to record new dialogue for Vander, while new dialogue for the deceased Henley was assembled from archival material.
David Ankrum, who voiced
Wedge Antilles in ''A New Hope'', reprises his role in a vocal cameo.
Ian McElhinney,
Michael Smiley,
Andy de la Tour, and Tim Beckmann play General
Jan Dodonna,
Dr. Evazan, General Hurst Romodi, and Captain
Raymus Antilles, respectively.
Warwick Davis plays Weeteef Cyubee, a member of Saw Gerrera's Partisans.
Dave Filoni reprises his role as
C1-10P from ''
Star Wars Rebels
''Star Wars Rebels'' is an American 3D animated science fiction television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation and set in the '' Star Wars'' universe. It takes place over a decade after '' Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' and progressi ...
''.
Stephen Stanton voices
Admiral Raddus, while
Paul Kasey appears in costume as the alien character on-screen.
Duncan Pow plays Ruescott Melshi, a sergeant in the Rebel Alliance. Additionally,
Alistair Petrie
Alistair Petrie (born 30 September 1970) is a British actor. He has starred in '' The Bank Job'' (2008), '' Cloud Atlas'' (2012), '' Rush'' (2013) and '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016). Petrie has also starred in the Channel 4 televisio ...
plays General Davits Draven,
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is a British actor. Initially a stage actor, Daniels was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Never the Sinner'' (1991), the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for ''900 Oneonta'' ...
plays General Antoc Merrick, and
Valene Kane
Valene Kane is a Northern Irish actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in all three series of BBC Two's BAFTA-nominated ''The Fall'', in which she played Jamie Dornan's first lover, Rose Stagg.
Early life
Kane was born and ...
plays Lyra Erso, Jyn's mother.
Jonathan Aris
Jonathan Aris is a British actor who has appeared in films, television and the theatre. He has narrated three TV documentaries produced and aired by the National Geographic Channel, and appears as Philip Anderson in the BBC television series ...
,
Fares Fares
Fares Fares (; born 29 April 1973) is a Swedish-Lebanese actor of Assyrian descent.
Early life
Fares was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His younger brother is director Josef Fares, and he has four sisters. In 1987, when Fares was 14 years old, hi ...
, and
Sharon Duncan-Brewster appear as Senators Nower Jebel, Vasp Vaspar, and Tynnra Pamlo, respectively.
Simon Farnaby plays a member of Blue Squadron.
Jordan Stephens appears as Rebel Alliance member Corporal Tonc.
Nick Kellington plays Bistan, the door gunner on a U-wing during the battle on Scarif.
Ian Whyte plays Moroff, a member of Saw Gerrera's Partisans.
Daniel Mays
Daniel Mays (born 31 March 1978) is an English actor.
Early life
Born in Epping, Essex, the third of four boys, Mays was brought up in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, by his electrician father and bank cashier mother. He attended the Italia Conti Acad ...
appears as Tivik.
Rian Johnson and
Ram Bergman, director and producer of ''
Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', respectively,
cameo as two Death Star technicians.
Production
Development
''Rogue One'' is the first film in the ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
''
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a di ...
, a series of standalone
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
films in the ''Star Wars'' franchise.
John Knoll, visual effects supervisor for the ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy,
pitched the idea as an episode of the unproduced series ''
Star Wars: Underworld'' 10 years before the film's development in 2003, during the production of ''Episode III'' in Sydney, developing a draft titled "Destroyer of Worlds;" after the Disney acquisition he felt as if he had to pitch it again or forever wonder "what might've happened if I had." In May 2014, Disney announced
Gareth Edwards
Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey".
In 2003, in a poll of international ...
would direct the film and
Gary Whitta would write the script. That October, cinematographer
Greig Fraser revealed that he would work on the film. In January 2015, it was revealed Whitta had completed his work on the script, and would no longer be with the project.
Simon Kinberg was considered as a replacement. Later that month, it was announced
Chris Weitz
Christopher John Weitz (born November 30, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Paul on the comedy films '' American Pie'' and '' About a Boy''; the latter earned the Weitz ...
had signed to write the script for the film. In March 2015, the title was announced.
Edwards stated the style of the film would be similar to that of a
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that wa ...
, stating, "It's the reality of war. Good guys are bad. Bad guys are good. It's complicated, layered; a very rich scenario in which to set a movie." Assuming Disney would not allow a dark ending, Edwards had the main characters surviving in the original version of the script, but the producers opted for a more tragic ending and never filmed the original version.
In May 2016, reports emerged the film would undergo five weeks of reshoots with
Tony Gilroy
Anthony Joseph Gilroy (born September 11, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He wrote the screenplays for the original '' Bourne'' trilogy (2002–2007) and wrote and directed the fourth film of the franchise, '' The Bourne Legacy'' (2012). He also ...
writing additional scenes, as well as acting as a second-unit director under Edwards. With input from Edwards, Gilroy oversaw the edit and additional photography of the film which tackled several issues, including the ending. In August, Gilroy was given screenplay credit alongside Weitz and was paid $5 million for his work on the film. Additionally,
Christopher McQuarrie,
Scott Z. Burns
Scott Z. Burns (born July 17, 1962) is an American filmmaker and playwright.
Career
After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Burns began his career in advertising and later became a television commercials director. He was part of th ...
, and
Michael Arndt
Michael Arndt is an American screenwriter. He is best known as the writer of the films ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006), ''Toy Story 3'' (2010), and '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015).
Arndt won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenpl ...
all contributed to the script at various stages in development.
In July 2016, discussing whether the film would feature an
opening crawl,
Kathleen Kennedy said, "we're in the midst of talking about it, but I don't think these
nthologyfilms will have an opening crawl." Edwards explained "The idea is this film is supposed to be different than the saga films," and that "This film is born out of a crawl. ... There's this feeling that if we did a crawl, then it'll create another movie." In November 2016, Kennedy confirmed the film would not feature an opening crawl, instead beginning in "a way that is traditional, with just the title."
At the 2016
''Star Wars'' Celebration, Edwards said the title had three meanings: "a military sign," referring to the
Red Squadron
Rogue Squadron is a fictional starfighter squadron in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Many surviving members of Red Squadron, the Rebel attack force that Luke Skywalker joins during the Battle of Yavin in ''Star Wars'' (1977). The squadron ap ...
from ''A New Hope''; "the 'rogue' one" of the franchise, given it is the first film to not be part of the main saga; and a description of Jyn Erso's personality.
Casting
In January 2015, ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' stated numerous actresses, including
Tatiana Maslany
Tatiana Gabriele Maslany ( ; born September 22, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence for playing multiple characters in the science fiction thriller television series '' Orphan Black'' (2013–2017), which won her a Primetime Emm ...
,
Rooney Mara
Patricia Rooney Mara ( ; born April 17, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, ...
, and
Felicity Jones
Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is a British actress. She started her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tel ...
were being tested for the film's lead. In February 2015, it was announced Jones was in final talks to star in the film, while
Aaron Paul
Aaron Paul (born Aaron Paul Sturtevant; August 27, 1979) is an American actor best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television ...
and
Édgar RamÃrez
Édgar Filiberto RamÃrez Arellano (, born 25 March 1977) is a Venezuelan actor. RamÃrez studied communications at the Andrés Bello Catholic University. He then worked in media and considered becoming a diplomat. When Guillermo Arriaga pra ...
were being eyed for the male lead role.
In March 2015, Jones was officially cast.
In March 2015, ''
Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, w ...
'' reported a rumor that
Ben Mendelsohn was being considered for a lead role. The next month,
TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009.
Awards
''TheWrap'' has won awards for its journalism, incl ...
reported that
Sam Claflin was being eyed for a role, while
Riz Ahmed
Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the shor ...
was in negotiations to join the film. In May, Mendelsohn, Ahmed, and
Diego Luna
Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''.
Following an early ca ...
were added to the cast of the film, in the lead roles.
Forest Whitaker was added to the cast in June 2015.
In July 2015,
Jonathan Aris
Jonathan Aris is a British actor who has appeared in films, television and the theatre. He has narrated three TV documentaries produced and aired by the National Geographic Channel, and appears as Philip Anderson in the BBC television series ...
was cast to play Senator Jebel.
Genevieve O'Reilly was cast as Mon Mothma, reprising her role from ''
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith''.
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
was confirmed to return as the voice of
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the ...
in June 2016.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
on the film began at
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
, on August 8, 2015. Much of the other photography was completed near
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to ...
at
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
, UK where huge sets were built to complement scenes filmed elsewhere in the world. The film was shot using
Ultra Panavision 70
Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were, from 1957 to 1966, the marketing brands that identified motion pictures photographed with Panavision's anamorphic movie camera lenses on 65 mm film. Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were shot at 24 ...
lenses with
Arri Alexa 65 large format digital 6K cameras.
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage. In filmmaking, a location is any place where a film crew ...
s were used around the world. In Iceland, the crew shot in Reynisfjara, and around the mountains of
Hjörleifshöfði
Hjörleifshöfði () is a -high inselberg in southern Iceland. It consists of palagonite. The mountain is located on the Mýrdalssandur outwash plain about east of VÃk à Mýrdal, and was an island in the Atlantic Ocean.
Name
The name was given ...
and
Hafursey
Hafursey (; ) is an inselberg in Southern Iceland. It has a length of and a width of .
Location
Hafursey lies to the north of the black outwash plain of Mýrdalssandur, south of a side glacier of the Mýrdalsjökull, called Kötlujökull.
Shape ...
at
Mýrdalssandur, which were used to represent Lah'mu and Eadu.
Also used were the
Krafla
Krafla () is a volcanic caldera of about 10 km in diameter with a 90 km long fissure zone. It is located in the north of Iceland in the Mývatn region and is situated on the Iceland hotspot atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which forms th ...
area with its volcanic crater and around
Lake Mývatn
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
's rock formations. The islands of
Gan and Baresdhoo of the
Laamu Atoll Laamu may refer to:
* Laamu Atoll, an administrative division of the Maldives.
* Laamu, the 14th consonant of the Thaana abugaida used in Dhivehi.
{{Disambig ...
in the Maldives, as well as the former
RAF Bovingdon
Royal Air Force Bovingdon or more simply RAF Bovingdon is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England, about south-west of Hemel Hempstead and south-east of Berkhamsted.
During the Second ...
airfield, were used to represent Scarif.
Wadi Rum in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...
was used to represent Jedha.
Pymmes Park in
Edmonton, London
Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern ...
was also used for location filming, and scenes set on Yavin 4 were filmed at
Cardington Airfield.
Gareth Edwards selected the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The U ...
's
Canary Wharf station as a location for a chase scene in an Imperial base; the location shoot took place between midnight and 4 am, when the station was closed to the public.
The film spent an estimated total of $265 million and received a $45.5 million subsidy from the United Kingdom's film incentive program.
Post-production
On February 11, 2016, Disney executives stated the film was "virtually completed." Several weeks of pre-scheduled reshoots began in June 2016. Tony Gilroy, who was an uncredited writer on the film at the time, was hired to direct the reshoots and rework aspects of the film, earning him a screenwriting credit.
It was created solely using digital tools.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began ...
(ILM) produced the film's visual effects. ILM used
CGI and digitally altered archive footage to insert
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
's likeness over the body of actor
Guy Henry. Lucasfilm secured permission from the late actor's estate to include him in the film.
[ The team reportedly searched through countless hours of Cushing footage in order to find suitable reference material, and Henry provided the ]motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
and voice work. A digital model of Cushing was mapped over Henry's performance like a digital body mask. Cushing's mannerisms, including his manner of speaking, were studied by the creative team and applied to the digital Tarkin model. Cushing's estate was heavily involved with the creation and had input right down to "small, subtle adjustments." A similar process was used in the portrayal of Princess Leia; Carrie Fisher's appearance as Leia in the first film was superimposed over the face of Norwegian actress Ingvild Deila and archival audio of Fisher saying "hope" was used to voice the character.
Post-production wrapped on November 28, 2016.
Music
In March 2015, it was reported that Alexandre Desplat
Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat (; born 23 August 1961) is a French film composer and conductor. He has won many awards, including two Academy Awards, for his musical scores to the films '' The Grand Budapest Hotel'' and ''The Shape of Water'' ...
who had worked with Edwards on ''Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
'', would compose the score for ''Rogue One'', and had confirmed it in an April 2016 interview. As the film's reshooting affected the post-production process, Desplat opted out from the project due to his commitments for scoring '' Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'' (2017), and was replaced by Michael Giacchino in September 2016. Giacchino only had four and a half weeks to compose the music for the film, beginning almost immediately after finishing production on '' Doctor Strange''. In addition to composing the original themes, Giacchino had incorporated John Williams' themes from previous films into the score. The official soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on December 16, 2016. An extended version of the soundtrack was released on February 11, 2022, which includes additional demos composed for the film score, and cues that were not included in the album, or being un-edited. A vinyl edition was further released by Mondo in March 2022.
Marketing
Promotion
Promotion of ''Rogue One'' was initially delayed by the release of the film '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation'' in July 2015, because the titles are similar. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
registered and cleared the title with the Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distri ...
in January 2015, well before Disney announced the title of its forthcoming ''Star Wars'' spinoff. Disney and LucasFilm had to reach an agreement with Paramount over promotion in order to avoid any confusion in the public mind. Disney agreed to embargo
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ...
promotion on ''Rogue One'' until after mid-2015, with the exception of a very short teaser which was screened at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim that year.
A teaser trailer
A teaser (or more specifically teaser trailer) is a mini- trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release move or television show advertisement. Short in length, te ...
for ''Rogue One'', released by Lucasfilm on April 7, 2016, was praised by reviewers for its portrayal of strong female characters. ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' described Jyn Erso's character as "a roguish, Han Solo-style heroine," calling the film "progressive," while noting its painstaking faithfulness to the production design
In film industry, film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions an ...
style of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' also noted the visual nods to the original trilogy, and examined the film's possible narrative direction, considering that the outcome is to some extent already revealed in the opening crawl of '' A New Hope''. ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' writer David Sims stated that the trailer brought "back some memorable pieces of architecture, from the lumbering AT-AT walkers to the Death Star itself, not to mention the glorious 70s costuming of ''Star Wars''." He added that the trailer has "the look," blending the old with the new. The trailer was viewed close to 30 million times in its first 29 hours, at a rate of 800,000 views per hour, from Facebook and YouTube, which is 200,000 views shy of what the first teaser trailer for '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' was receiving in November 2014.
In June 2016, ''Rogue One'' was promoted at the ''Star Wars'' Celebration Europe III event in London. During the event, a new official poster was unveiled, which depicts a battle taking place on the tropical planet Scarif, with the Death Star looming large in a blue sky, above which is printed the tagline
In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...
"A Rebellion Built on Hope". A second teaser trailer was also unveiled, screened exclusively for the Celebration audience, and not streamed online. This new trailer was reviewed favorably by critics; ''The Daily Telegraph'' noted that the trailer revealed new locations such as the planets Jedha and Scarif, and that its most significant revelation came in the final seconds of the teaser, with the appearance of Darth Vader, reflected in a computer screen and accompanied by his classic breathing sound effect. '' Variety'' also hailed the Vader reveal, and noted that the emphasis of the production was much more on the kinetic depiction of large battle sequences and full-on warfare, comparing it to Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...
's 1979 Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
epic ''Apocalypse Now
''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph C ...
''. A showreel was also shown during the event, which featured footage from the film, cut with behind-the-scenes shots and interviews with the director and cast members. The second trailer was shown publicly during a broadcast of the 2016 Summer Olympics and received positive responses; ''Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
'' stated that the trailer was "littered with nostalgic throwbacks to the original trilogy," while ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' described the CGI landscape shots seen in the footage as "eye-poppingly gorgeous."
A further trailer released in October 2016 prompted ''The Hollywood Reporter'' to comment that the newly revealed footage looked like "a trailer to a different movie than the one advertised earlier," remarking that Jyn Erso appeared to be portrayed as a more vulnerable character, and highlighting the appearance of Galen Erso as a protective father figure. ''Vanity Fair'' also commented on the emphasis given to Jyn's relationship with her father, suggesting that ''Rogue One'' was drawing on "the ''Star Wars'' franchise's greatest natural resource: daddy issues."
The film's publicity tour began in Mexico on November 23, 2016.
In Asia, Disney focused marketing efforts on Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...
, where his individual poster is used for marketing in territories including Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, China, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The official ''Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' Facebook page of the respective Asian countries also featured clips and videos of Donnie Yen speaking various languages, greeting fans and telling them to support the film. In addition, Disney also released various versions of international trailers with more footage of Yen.
Tie-in novels
A tie-in novel to the film, '' Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel'', was released on November 15, 2016. Written by veteran ''Star Wars'' novelist James Luceno, the story is set some years before the events of ''Rogue One'', and provides a backstory to the 2016 film. The novelization of the film was written by Alexander Freed, and released on December 16, 2016.
Months after the film was released, Disney , Lucasfilm Press published another novel titled ''Star Wars: Rebel Rising'' on May 2, 2017. Written by Beth Revis
Beth Revis is an American author of fantasy and science fiction, mainly for the young adult audience. She is best known for the ''Across the Universe'' trilogy, which consists of the novels ''Across the Universe'', ''A Million Suns'' and ''Sha ...
, the novel explains what happened to Jyn Erso between the time her mother died and the day when Rebel agents freed her from an Imperial labor camp, a time period that the film skips over in its opening minutes.
On the same day ''Rebel Rising'' was released, the novel ''Guardians of the Whills'' was released as well by Disney , Lucasfilm Press. Written by novelist and comic writer Greg Rucka, it focused on the characters Chirrut and Baze, telling their backstories as well as giving more context to the events that happened on Jedha prior to the film and even the Imperial occupation.
Comics
Months after the film was released, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
adapted the film into a six-part comic book miniseries, which adds extra content. The miniseries' complete collection was released on December 12, 2017.
In August 2017, IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly re ...
announced that it would make a one-shot graphic novel adaptation of the film, which was released one day after the Marvel miniseries' collection was released. Unlike the Marvel miniseries, this graphic novel will have slightly more cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...
ish visuals.
In the same month, Marvel Comics released the ''Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special'', a 40-page one-shot comic focusing on the first meeting between Cassian Andor and K-2SO. The comic was written by Duane Swierczynski and pencilled by Fernando Blanco.
Video games
A downloadable expansion pack for the 2015 ''Star Wars Battlefront'' game, titled ''Rogue One: Scarif'', was released in December 2016, and added content based on the film, including new game modes, a map based on the planet Scarif, and Jyn Erso and Orson Krennic as playable characters. A free virtual reality mission for PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
was also released alongside the expansion. A free update for the 2017 game ''Star Wars Battlefront II'', released in April 2020, added a different Scarif map and other ''Rogue One''-inspired content. Several characters and concepts from the film were also included in the mobile games '' Star Wars: Force Arena'', ''Star Wars Commander
''Star Wars Commander'' was a freemium strategy video game for iOS, Windows and Android, developed by Disney Interactive.
Gameplay
''Star Wars Commander'' was a strategy game that combines attacks on other players with attacks against computer g ...
'', and '' Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes''.
Release
Theatrical
''Rogue One'' premiered at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on December 10, 2016. The film was released in certain European countries on December 14, 2016, and was released in North America on December 16, with China getting the film on January 6, 2017.
Home media
''Rogue One'' was released on Digital HD on March 24, 2017, and by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, and ...
on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...
, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD on April 4, 2017.
It was released in 4K for the first time through the launch of Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...
and was made available on Digital Ultra HD at the same time. It was released for Ultra HD Blu-ray
Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional B ...
on March 31, 2020, whilst also being reissued on Blu-ray and DVD.
Reception
Box office
''Rogue One'' grossed $534.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $523.9 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $1.057 billion. ''Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, w ...
'' calculated the film's net profit as $319.6 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participation, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it third on their list of 2016's "Most Valuable Blockbusters."
In late November 2016, box office projections for the United States and Canada had the film grossing $100–150 million during its opening weekend. Disney chairman Bob Iger
Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of American Broadcasting Company, ABC Television between 1994 an ...
noted that Disney and Lucasfilm did not expect ''Rogue One'' to match ''The Force Awakens'' total gross of $2.1 billion, nor its $248 million opening. Pre-sale tickets for the film went on sale at 12:01 AM EST on November 28, 2016. Within 10 minutes, ticket sale sites such as Fandango
Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...
crashed, much like they had in advance of ''The Force Awakens'' the year prior. In its first 24 hours, the film had the second-highest number of pre-sale tickets ever sold, behind only ''The Force Awakens''. Worldwide, the film was expected to gross $280–350 million in its opening weekend.
In the United States, the film made $29 million from its Thursday night previews, making it the highest-grossing Thursday opening of 2016. On Friday, the film grossed $71.1 million, and $46.3 million the next day, securing a total of $155.1 million in its opening weekend, the third-biggest debut of 2016. It topped the box office once again in its second weekend, grossing $64 million (down 58.7%) over the three day weekend, and $96.1 million over the four day weekend. On Christmas Day, it grossed $25.9 million. It finished first at the box office again in its third weekend, grossing $49.6 million (−22.5%) over the three-day weekend and $65.5 million over the four-day weekend. In its fourth weekend, Sunday projections had the film grossing $22 million, besting newcomer ''Hidden Figures
''Hidden Figures'' is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder. It is loosely based on the 2016 non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly about African Americ ...
'' $21.8 million. However, final figures the following day revealed the film tallied a weekend total of $21.9 million, falling to second place behind ''Hidden Figures'' $22.8 million. To promote the upcoming release of the prequel series ''Andor'', Disney re-released ''Rogue One'' into 255 IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graem ...
theaters on August 26, 2022. It made $1.1 million over the weekend, bringing its running IMAX total to $105 million, 10th all-time.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Rogue One'' draws deep on ''Star Wars'' mythology while breaking new narrative and aesthetic ground and suggesting a bright blockbuster future for the franchise." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score 65 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported film goers gave the film a 91% overall positive score.
'' IGN'' reviewer Eric Goldman gave the film 9/10, saying, "''Rogue One'' is a movie crammed with fan service, but when fan service is done this well, there's little to complain about and much to adore." Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "this spin-off/prequel has the same primitive, lived-in, emotional, loopy, let's-put-on-a-show spirit that made us fall in love with the original trilogy." /Film
''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005.
Podcasts
Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, ...
gave ''Rogue One'' 8/10, writing that the film is enjoyable but does not have the emotional weight of ''The Force Awakens'', because "no character in ''Rogue One'' was strongly compelling." ''PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...
'' wrote, "''Rogue One'' seems to enjoy spending time on a whole new batch of moons and planets we haven't seen before, reveling in the clutter and clamor of far-flung settlements where anti-Imperial sentiments fester. But the film is bogged down in engineering the complex maneuverings of spy games, dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every maj ...
s, and the most sprawling Rebel-versus-Empire land battle scene since the opening of ''The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a sto ...
''." Justin Chang, writing for the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', called ''Rogue One'' "a swiftly paced, rough-and-ready entertainment."
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote, "All the pieces are there, in other words, like Lego
Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlockin ...
figures in a box. The problem is that the filmmakers haven't really bothered to think of anything very interesting to do with them. A couple of 9-year-olds on a screen-free rainy afternoon would come up with better adventures, and probably also better dialogue." Richard Brody of ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...
'' called the film "lobotomized and "depersonalized," and wrote it "isn't so much a movie as a feature-length promotional film for itself; it's a movie that is still waiting to be made." ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' wrote "''Rogue One'' represents an unobjectionable exercise in franchise extension. It's fine. It'll do. For now."
IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
's David Ehrlich gave the film a C+ rating, calling it "a spirited but agonizingly safe attempt to expand cinema's most holy blockbuster franchise and keep the wheels greased between proper installments ... just a glorified excuse to retcon
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...
some sense into one of the silliest things about the original." While he praised the set design and visuals, calling them "gorgeous," he criticized a lack of interesting character development and a script that felt "completely constricted by its purpose."
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''.
Early life and education
Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...
, film critic of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' said: "''Rogue One'' doesn't really go rogue at any stage, and it isn't a pop culture event like ''The Force Awakens'', in whose slipstream this appears; part of its charm resides in the eerie, almost dreamlike effect of continually producing familiar elements, reshuffled and reconfigured, a reaching back to the past and hinting at a preordained future. There are some truly spectacular cameos from much-loved personae, involving next-level digital effects—almost creepily exact, so that watching feels at various stages like going into a time machine, back to the 80s and 70s."
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...
was reported to have enjoyed the film more than '' The Force Awakens''; upon hearing this, Gareth Edwards said, "I can die happy now."
The film was praised for its exploration of ethics in engineering; in a reviewer's words, "the core ethical arc of the film is one man's decision to engineer the Death Star in such a way as to prevent its use for galactic domination. One could fairly re-title the movie to 'Rogue One: an Engineering Ethics Story.'"
A writer for the military news website '' Task & Purpose'' lauded ''Rogue One'' as the ''Star Wars'' film that best reflects real military experience. Many details, James Seddon writes, resonate with his own 21 years of service in the U.S. Navy:
He also pointed to aspects beyond the film's production design, like Rebel Lt. Sefla's muzzle discipline, the "bitter stoicism" predominant among characters who "spend most of their time wet, uncomfortable, afraid, and bickering" even as they work diligently to complete their mission, and the moral ambiguity of some of the Rebel's actions.
Digital recreation
While much of the computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The image ...
(CGI) received praise, some news organizations published criticism about certain aspects, including the visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of
a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production.
The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
(VFX) that were used to revive Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
, who had died in 1994, as Grand Moff Tarkin. ''The Guardian''s Catherine Shoard described the "resurrection" as a "digital indignity." Joseph Walsh of ''The Guardian'' raised legal and ethical issues about bringing a long-dead actor to life. Lucasfilm had obtained permission from Cushing's estate before deciding to use his likeness.[ ''The Washington Times'' Eric Althoff rejected the entire concept of using CGI to recreate a deceased actor: "Alas, what we get is, basically, not a simulation, but an approximation of a simulation—a dead character portrayed by a living actor inhabiting not the character, but imitating the dead actor."
Some journalists also criticized the quality of the CGI that was used to represent a younger ]Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...
in order to portray Princess Leia at an earlier time, as well as its suitability in movie-making. Eliana Dockterman of ''Time'' wrote that "there was something particularly plastic about this version of the young Carrie Fisher—so smooth and so perfect it couldn't be real—that pulled me out of the moment." Kelly Lawler of ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
'' said: "... while Tarkin is merely unnerving, the Leia cameo is so jarring as to take the audience completely out of the film at its most emotional moment. Leia's appearance was meant to help the film end on a hopeful note (quite literally, as 'hope' is her line), but instead it ends on a weird and unsettling one." Michael Cavna of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' described the facial effect as feeling "distractingly artificial and nearly alien, like a plastered death mask robbed of authentic actorly effect, well beyond the usual artifice of Botox." For her part, Fisher was shown the CGI rendition of her younger self for the film by Kathleen Kennedy and "loved it."
Accolades
Prequel television series
On November 8, 2018, it was announced that a live-action prequel series was officially in development and set to air on Disney's streaming service, Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...
. The series takes place five years before the events in ''Rogue One'' and focuses on Cassian Andor with Diego Luna
Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''.
Following an early ca ...
reprising the role. It was released on September 21, 2022.
Notes
References
External links
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* at Starwars.com
* at
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