Newly-released concept art from Rogue One reveals unused plot line

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is almost universally considered a worthwhile addition to the Star Wars universe. The film helped to bridge the gap between the prequel and original trilogies and added a slew of new characters for fans to get to know.

Production on the film started years before its December 2016 release, and one of the first steps, as in all Lucasfilm projects, was creating concept art. A large portion of the art created for this film can be seen in the book The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. 

However, thanks to a report from TheDirect.com, we are now getting a look at some unused pieces of art from the film, a few of which comprised entire scenes that didn’t make their way into the final film.

The new art was comprised of a number of storyboards that were posted on Twitter by Rogue One visual development supervisor Matt Allsopp:

Additional context for the storyboards was provided by both Allsopp and Rogue One screenwriter Gary Whitta. The scenes appear to be from a number of different points in the film, as well as from many different drafts of the script.

These scenes serve to expand both the characters and settings in the film, as well as providing context on the larger Star Wars universe. For example, the first panel, per Whitta, shows “Edu (later respelled as Eadu), the planet where the Empire was building part of the Death Star. Yes, those are nerfs, and they were being herded!”

Hardcore Star Wars fans will recognize this reference from The Empire Strikes Back when Princess Leia calls Han Solo a “half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf herder!” It’s one of the most famous lines in all of the films, so it is cool to see some context surrounding these creatures. This scene would’ve also depicted Jyn Erso leading a Rebel task force on the planet. While a version of this did make it into the final movie, the scene as depicted in the storyboard did not.

Additional storyboards show other recognizable scenes from the film that did end up making the final cut, but with some slight tweaks. These include Jyn Erso and K-2SO on the holy planet of Jedha, as well as a version of the movie’s opening scene on the planet Lah’mu and the ending scene on the planet Scarif.

While not all of the concept art that was revealed is new information, it is still interesting to see how the process of filmmaking starts and evolves through storyboards. Despite the changes, edits, and cuts that are made, the actual movie itself seems to have stood on its own merits. As Rogue One approaches its five-year anniversary this December, perhaps more behind-the-scenes information will be revealed.

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