According to The Hollywood Reporter (via Making Star Wars), some scenes in the first Star Wars Anthology film, Rogue One, will be shot using a 6K resolution, large format digital camera from Arri called the Alexa 65.
Another report from THR said that, as of December 2014 (the date of the Alexa 65’s debut to cinematographers), there were only five of these cameras, and they were very sought after (previous Alexas had been used to film scenes in such acclaimed works as the Oscar-winning Birdman and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken). Back in December, the new Alexa 65 was already scheduled to be used to shoot for a number of films, including what we now know to be Rogue One.
Greig Fraser (cinematographer on the popular war movie, Zero Dark Thirty) gathered the test footage that was screened at the camera’s launch last year using the Alexa 65, according to THR. Fraser is part of the team working on Rogue One.
THR adds that Rogue One will also be have scenes captured on film. The scenes shot with the digital camera(s) may be those showing battle, where CG will likely need to be integrated.
JJ Abrams used film in his shoot of The Force Awakens in what was obviously an effort to revive the traditional original trilogy “look.” He also appears to have utilized a lot of practical effects similar to those seen in the original trilogy (e.g., puppetry). Edwards, on the other hand, may be leaning more towards the digital trend with the Alexa 65. Jason Ward of Making Star Wars says, in his report on the use of the Alexa 65 in Rogue One, “It sounds like Gareth Edwards will be picking up where George Lucas left off, technologically speaking. He appears to be embracing the digital revolution instead of using film stocks meant to mimic the original trilogy’s.”
But as Ward also pointed out, THR’s report does not indicate how much of Rogue One will be filmed with the Alexa 65 and how much of it will be captured on film.