Felicity Jones Downplays Rogue One Reshoots

Star of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso) and Lucasfilm president, Kathleen Kennedy have spoken out on the Rogue One reshoots, saying they are Nothing Unusual…

During the summer, quite the hullabaloo was caused when Disney ordered reshoots for director Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. At the time, the rumors swirling drain of the internet claimed that Disney wasn’t pleased with the initial audience testing, and wanted the reshoots to add more levity to the film.

It’s no secret that Gareth Edwards wanted a darker and more gritty film that would touch on the brutality of war; the war between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. With Rogue One being the very first Star Wars standalone film, it would make sense that Disney/Lucasfilm would want to make sure that the film hits all the marks.

In that vein, the star of Rogue One, Felicity Jones — who plays the heroine of the film Jyn Erso — has spoken out on the reshoots and is now downplaying that whole situation. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Jones had this to say:

"“Obviously when you come to the edit, you see the film come together and you think, ‘Actually, we could do this better, and this would make more sense if we did this. I’ve done it so many times. I mean, you wouldn’t just give your first draft on this story, would you?”"

Jones brings up a fantastic point. Most films do reshoots, once filming wraps and the director is going through the process of post-production. And, she’s right, submitting the first draft of anything is a terrible idea.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy chimed in on the reshoots, as well:

"“I’m sure if you picked up the phone and called every single large, technical movie and said, ‘You ever gone in and done reshoots?’ they’d all say, ‘Oh God, yes.’ So why has it turned into a big story? Because it’s Star Wars, and they put a spotlight and scrutinize every single thing that gets done. But it was always planned and nothing unusual”"

Kennedy is absolutely right. Because Rogue One is a Star Wars film, every move, no matter how minor, will be overly scrutinized. There seems to be a lot of pressure for Disney/Lucasfilm to produce quality content for the standalone Star Wars films

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But what do you think? Are you at all concerned about the reshoots for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story? Let’s discuss in the comments below and on social media.