Star Wars: Rogue One director on reshoots: "We never came up for air until about a week ago"

Star Wars: Rogue One may look like the finished product now (just look at the trailers!), but the movie had to undergo extensive reshoots – a process which, according to director Gareth Edwards, meant the crew “never really came up for air until about a week ago.”

But fret not, Star Wars fanboys, the galaxy far, far away is in safe hands with Gareth Edwards, a self-proclaimed Star Wars diehard. Speaking to the LA Times, Edwards wanted to do things the right way because “Star Wars is going to live forever if you do it properly.”

Actor Riz Ahmed, who plays ace pilot Bodhi Rook, echoed his director’s words, saying it takes guts to “unpick stitching rather than just to embroider over it.”

For the cast, crew, and everyone involved, Rogue One feels like a real labour of love. The visual effects count may have rocketed up to “nearly 1,700” but Edwards wanted the film to “be more realistic and more grounded.”

It sounds like the Sith didn’t hit the fan and we’re going to get the Star Wars movie we – and Gareth Edwards – have been dreaming about for a long time.

Directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, and Mads Mikkelsen, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is released in the UK on December 15 and the US on December 16.

Images: Lucasfilm/ILM

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Latest in Star Wars Movies
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
After 26 years, a secret Star Wars reference to George Lucas has been uncovered: "We got a new Phantom Menace Easter Egg before GTA 6"
Liam Neeson in The Phantom Menace
"Wise mentor" or "awful Jedi"? Star Wars fans are debating if Qui-Gon Jinn is to blame for Anakin's turn to the dark side
Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Longlegs director pitches horrifying Star Wars movie with Darth Vader, and we want it to happen
Werner Herzog in The Mandalorian
Star Wars fans are sharing their favorite unbelievable canon cameos – and some of them are seriously deep-cut
Kathleen Kennedy standing with a bunch of Stormtroopers
Star Wars' Kathleen Kennedy debunks retirement reports, as she shares plans for the future of Lucasfilm: "I will die making movies"
Star Wars
Two of Star Wars' biggest no-show movies get updates – but they're not completely promising
Latest in News
Train to Busan passengers
Train to Busan director is returning to the horror sub-genre with a new movie described as the culmination of his zombie universe
Thomas Shelby on a horse
Although Netflix is making the Peaky Blinders movie, fans need not to worry as it will be released in theaters too
Former Xbox boss says GTA: San Andreas and its infamously NSFW Hot Coffee minigame "signified a maturing of the industry" and put games "on par with movies and music"
Suikoden
As Suikoden returns from the dead, Konami wants the cult JRPG classic to "become a huge title that can rival other AAA" games
King Kong wrestling a giant squid monster
The Monsterverse expands with Return to Skull Island, a comic tying into Netflix's King Kong-centric animated series
Balatro Joker card
"I was in super crunch mode": Balatro creator opens up on the toll the stress of indie development took on his "physical and mental health"