Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be a movie of firsts. The spinoff of sorts from the beloved science-fiction/adventure franchise is expecting to collect huge when they open, with a figure of $150m already being mooted, yet a key indicator of this move away from tradition is embodied no better than the scrapping of the iconic opening crawl.
From Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope right up until 2015's Force Awakens, the slanted rolling captions have been a regular feature of the series that spans popular culture. Rogue One producer and head of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy has come out to give an explanation why this is the case.
“We felt that’s so indicative of what those saga films are," said Kennedy. “Initially, we probably will begin the film in a way that is traditional, with just the title.”
Rogue One Hires Giacchino Last Minute For Soundtrack
When Oscar-winner Alexandre Desplat dropped out of the production to create the music that makes Star Wars so special, the studio brought in Michael Giacchino at the 11th hour, and he hasn't regretted it for a moment.
"Yes, literally the last thing I expected I’d be doing this month would be this," explains the composer. "I mean we were literally planning a vacation when I got the call asking if I could come and talk to them about it. At the time, it left me with literally four and a half weeks to write. So it was one of those decisions where you’re like, okay, well… And I was talking to my brother about it. He goes, “Oh, come on. You’ve been writing this score since you were 10! You can do this.”
But being a Star Wars buff and something of a geek, he jumped at the opportunity.
"Aside from all that it was really fun to do," said Giacchino. "It was really fun to come in every morning and just look up at the screen and see Stormtroopers running around. And I thought, “This is pretty cool actually…” Part of me was stressing out about the timeline. But the other part of me was just like, “This is the greatest thing ever! This is so much fun!” So I really tried to just keep all the negativity, whatever, or be away from it, just so I could look at it and enjoy it. I wanted to make something that I would be happy with – even though I’m usually not happy with anything I do. (Laughs) But, you know, always at least to try and shoot for it."
Star Wars Farewells An Old Favorite
Australian actor Peter Sumner got in on the series before it became iconic, playing a Death Star security officer in the original. His passing this week at the age of 74 brought up memories of his short but memorable role in Star Wars. It stayed with him all his life as he told The Sydney Morning Herald last year the response he received.
“I was so moved by some of the early letters from kids who were sick and the only thing in their lives was Star Wars that I decided I’d answer every single letter,” said Sumner. "And I did."
Comments