Executives at Disney have reportedly ordered four weeks of reshoots on the upcoming Star Wars spinoff film Rogue One, with an anonymous source close to the situation claiming the studio is not satisfied with director Gareth Edwards’ first cut of the film.
According to Page Six’s Emily Smith, Disney executives are quietly panicking that the Star Wars spinoff film, due out in theaters in December, is not up to the quality of the most recent entry in the space saga, Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
“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 unnamed source told the Post.
Rogue One — which stars Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna and Forest Whitaker — centers on on a group of Rebel spies on a mission to steal the blueprints of the under-construction Death Star. In official Star Wars canon, the action in Rogue One takes place after Episode III but before Episode IV: A New Hope, before Luke, Leia and Han Solo ever got together to save the galaxy.
But director Gareth Edwards’s (Godzilla) vision for Rogue One is apparently in question as Disney ordered summer reshoots for the film, an unusual move with the release date just six months away.
“Disney won’t take a back seat, and is demanding changes, as the movie isn’t testing well,” the unnamed source told the Post.
Disney responded to the news with its own statement downplaying the allegedly poor quality of the film.
“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,” a rep for the studio told the Post. “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.”
Rogue One is just one of several planned Star Wars spinoffs that were announced when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. A spinoff planned for 2018 will give fans a look at a young Han Solo, while another rumored film will explore the backstory of the infamous bounty hunter and fan favorite character Boba Fett.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens broke numerous box office records upon its release last December on its way to grossing more than $2 billion worldwide.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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