Star Wars took a huge risk when they decided to go ahead and make Rogue One, the first-ever standalone movie of the franchise.
Seven years later, the Felicity Jones and Gabriel Luna starrer is easily one of the most loved and critically acclaimed Star Wars productions, and fans still talk about *that* Darth Vader scene from the movie. However, its making wasn’t all smooth sailing.
Top Disney executives were reportedly not happy with the first cut by director Gareth Edwards. The film was sent back for rigorous reshoots for nearly a month prior to its December 2016 release.
Lucasfilm brought in writer-director Tony Gilroy of Michael Clayton and Bourne series fame, who would later become the showrunner of the Rogue One prequel spinoff Andor. He was credited with a screenwriting credit for his contributions to the changes made.
As a result, several scenes from the trailer were not even present in the final version of the movie. The situation created a lot of controversy and confusion in the media and a lion’s share of the blame, by default, fell on Edwards. But over the years, Lucasfilm’s failure to successfully carry out movie projects has led fans to speculate if it was the studio’s fault after all.
However, Gareth Edwards himself remained nothing but grateful for the opportunity to direct a Star Wars movie, which, as he once said to Variety, was like ‘winning the lottery.’
In a recent interview with Uproxx, Edwards was asked if he felt absolved by the number of Star Wars cancelations. The Godzilla maker ‘respectfully disagreed.’ Instead, he credited George Lucas for everything Rogue One eventually went on to become, including the now-iconic Vader scene.
"I do think there’s a lot of conversation about Rogue One and me and everything. And I honestly feel when I watch Rogue One, the person who doesn’t get enough credit is … George Lucas. Everything that’s great about that movie, you can pretty much trace back to George. And even the Darth Vader scene that lots of people talk about? I can’t take credit for it. Because it’s all George."
Edwards seemed to be holding no grudges over the matter, neither did he express any regrets about being a part of the project. “I wouldn’t complain about any of it,” he said. “I’d do it again if I had a time machine.”