We sift through the rumours and see what’s really happening with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

More details on the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story reshoots seem to have come to light…

The ongoing drama of this Christmas’ upcoming Star Wars entry seems t indicate that there’s a lot of work to be done and over a longer period than first thought.

According to the guys at Making Star Wars up to 40% of the movie will be reshot and over eight weeks, not the four previously reported.

They are reporting tht word from the set is:

·Some crew initially heard J.J. Abrams was supervising the reshoots.

·Gareth Edwards is doing the reshoots himself but with a partner, Christopher McQuarrie.

·Christopher McQuarrie, the final writer on Rogue One will be working extensively with Edwards onset to make sure they’re on the “same page” with the most recent draft of the film.

·Christopher McQuarrie’s draft of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was considered superior to the film they shot previously.

·It was not Edwards’ fault as McQuarrie’s draft wasn’t completed when much of the film was shot and revisions kept coming in that made the film feel uneven.

·32 sets have been recreated for the reshoot.

·The crew expects they are reshooting 40% of the film.

·They are working 6 days a week for 8 weeks.

Ok, so this does sound pretty scary with the film set for release on December 16th.

However, in a twist to the story, Christopher McQuarrie himself was contacted by the folks at /Film and he’s telling a very different story, indeed.

Here’s what the writer of The Usual Suspects and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation said: “If there are any reshoots on Rogue One, I’m not supervising them. For any outlet to say so is not only wrong, it’s irresponsible. Gareth Edwards is a talented filmmaker who deserves the benefit of the doubt. Making a film – let alone a Star Wars chapter – is hard enough without the internet trying to deliberately downgrade one’s years of hard work. Who does that even serve? Let him make his movie in peace.”

So, if McQuarrie is being truthful – and we have no reason to doubt he is – then the story of the reshoots above is pretty much shot down as a lot of it is based on McQuarrie’s participation.

Whatever the truth, it looks like Rogue One has a tough few weeks ahead, but there’s still a lot of time before it’s due in the cinemas, so we’re not too worried.

Well, not yet at least…

Now EW are saying they have reached out to sources at Lucasfilm and gotten some details on the filming themselves.

Here’s what they are reporting is the real deal: “Here’s what’s true: The film,[is] undergoing four to five weeks of reshoots, beginning this month and ending just days before the Star Wars Celebration fan event in London on July 15.”

“Reshoots were scheduled for the film before even a single scene was shot.” they report “It’s standard practice now for large-scale films to build in additional weeks of shooting so filmmakers can tweak a movie after the first assembly cut.

““The changes have everything to do with clarity and character development and all take place [as inserts] within scenes we’ve already shot,” said one source on the project.”

So after the reshoots happen, what next: “The plan now is to lock picture in mid-August and begin scoring the movie in September – which would actually be an earlier timeline than The Force Awakens, which also underwent several weeks of summer reshoots and locked picture in October.

““If we were rewriting the movie and reshooting 40 percent of movie, we would not be finishing in August,” a source on the production says. “People really would be panicking – and changing the release date.””

Sounds fair enough to us…

So what about Christopher McQuarrie? Well, McQuarrie DID work on an earlier draft od the script briefly but isn’t involved now. However, Tony Gilroy, the writer-director of Michael Clayton. He was brought aboard the project in the spring to offer notes on the first cut and write some additional material to enhance the story.

Gilroy has worked on the screenplays for many of the Bourne films and even directed 2012’s The Bourne Legacy, he also did similar uncredited work Gareth Edward’s Godzilla. and he “will assist Edwards as a second unit director when cameras start rolling again.”

We have heard rumours that the movie is being reshot because the tone is too dark. Not so, say EW’s source: “The movie is very different than [The Force Awakens], and that’s intentional. It’s a war film.”

They also report that the reports that the movie is being made more family friendly are false and there have been no screenings of the movie. In fact, Disney are simply allowing Edwards et al do more work on the movie and have no concerns: “This is a normal part of our filmmaking process. We’re working and tweaking and making sure it’s right. This is how you build something in layers.

“I can’t think of anything in world of creativity [that isn’t changed or reworked]. You need to do that when making these movies.”

Well, that’s put our minds at rest.

Rogue One hits on December 16th… the truth will be known then. But we aren’t worried… are you?