While not uncommon for big budget studio movies, the fact that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be undergoing some “expensive reshoots” this summer does not bode well. The decision was made by Disney execs following un-receptive responses from test groups, and one can only guess as to exactly what that means, but history shows that corporate entities who try and improve upon an artist’s work generally do not do so well.
Page Six’s Hollywood source stated that, “The execs at Disney are not happy with the movie, and Rogue One will have to go back into four weeks of expensive reshoots in July.” The source went on to say, “Disney won’t take a back seat, and is demanding changes, as the movie isn’t testing well.”
Whoa. That does not sound good at all.
In order to remove some of the negative hype that the reshoots are bringing, a Disney source stated: “The filmmaking team and the studio always anticipated additional shooting and second unit work to make the film the absolute best it can be, and the actors were aware there would be additional shooting. Coming off The Force Awakens, there’s an incredibly high bar for this movie and we have a responsibility to the franchise and to the fans to deliver the best possible movie we can.”
But if that’s the case, then why would Page Six’s Hollywood source use such strong language? Saying “demand” and explicitly using phrases like “not happy” and “expensive reshoots” is not how you would put things if all were peachy keen in the world. It sounds like somebody isn’t happy.
It hasn’t been released precisely what the Disney execs aren’t happy about, but who knows? Maybe it’s a good thing that they’re stepping in. After all, they hired Gareth Edwards to direct Rogue One, and many people weren’t too happy with how he handled the most recent Godzilla movie. Edwards has a reputation of being a risk taker, and his pessimistic opinion on studio involvement is well-known, so it wouldn’t at all be a surprise if Edwards is putting up a fight against Disney to try and make the movie that he wants to make, and Disney is not backing down.
Whether or not this report spells bad news for the first movie in the upcoming Star Wars Stories series of films that Disney has planned, it’s an interesting takeaway at the very least that Disney is having such heavy creative differences with the people they’ve hired to make their movies.
What do you think of the reshoots? Are you looking forward to this film? Sound off below!