Gareth Edwards describes initial conversation with George Lucas about Rogue One
It may seem hard to believe, but it has now been over half a decade since Rogue One: A Star Wars Story originally opened in cinemas back in 2016. The acclaimed film was directed by Gareth Edwards, and it grossed over $1 billion at the box office, in addition to being praised by fans and critics.
Edwards recently guest starred on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to discuss his latest directorial effort, The Creator. Throughout the course of his interview, Edwards described how he received a phone call from George Lucas, who wanted to thank him for delivering such a great Star Wars movie after watching Rogue One. You can read Edwards’ full comments about his phone conversation with George Lucas below:
"“We showed him around the set, he came to visit Pinewood [Studios] at one point. We had a day where we showed him everything. That just felt the most surreal thing in the world, to be showing George Lucas a Star Wars film, part of it felt wrong in that sense… I was doing interviews, and there’s this person hovering by the door, and I was like ‘What?’. And then suddenly it sort of stopped, and they said, “Gareth’s just gotta take a break,” and I had no idea what was going on. And we go down the corridor, and they go, “George Lucas is on the phone.” And I was like ‘What?!’. And I suddenly got whisked into this room, and there was this phone off the hook, and I was like, “Hello?”. And I do this every time where I’m like, ‘Okay, everyone’s gonna ask me what he said.’ In my brain, I’m grabbing a cassette tape, I’m putting it in and hitting record, ‘Remember this, remember this!’. And I’m so in awe that it’s George… he was highly complemental, he was very kind, but I played the tape back, and it was like [noises].”"
Rogue One had a notoriously troubled production history, with Tony Gilroy being hired to direct extensive reshoots. Gilroy was also heavily involved with the editing process, so it remains unclear how much input Edwards had on the final edit of the film. Either way, most fans will still agree that Rogue One was ultimately a strong and compelling entry into the franchise, with some even considering it to be one of the best Star Wars movies of the entire Disney era.
On the other hand, The Creator has been receiving praise from critics, which certainly does not come as a surprise. Edwards is clearly an incredibly talented director, and The Creator already seems like it will be remembered as a classic. If you would like to see the futuristic action film for yourself, it is now playing in wide release across the United States.