When Gareth Edwards’ The Creator opens in theaters on September 29, the British filmmaker invites audiences worldwide to experience an elaborate sci-fi vision that will leave them feeling inspired. With a budget of $80 million, The Creator is one of Edwards’ most elaborate efforts, a far cry from his 2012 indie darling Monsters, which the Godzilla director made for less than $500,000. Speaking with Variety about his latest creation, Edwards reflects on his career and reveals his thoughts about 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a film mired in whispers about its production.
Abiding by Hollywood’s playbook for tentpole features is an approach that Edwards finds unnecessary. He prefers to strip away what makes blockbusters overly complicated and embrace the spontaneity and creative freedom of using the bare essentials. During his chat with Variety, Edwards compared studio filmmaking to “an unstoppable machine,” saying release dates act like a ticking time bomb.
“You have to work at the pace that the machine is working at. There are times where you wish you could just stop everything and take a moment to just figure something out. And you can’t. It’s hard to talk about this in a way that doesn’t sound like I’m not grateful for getting the opportunity.”
Speaking of gratitude, Edwards says he feels nothing but appreciation for the opportunity to work on a Star Wars film, even if he lost “control over the process” during production. Rumors about Edwards losing his grip on Rogue One during reshoots continue to swirl around the fandom. Still, Edwards maintains his position regarding how working in the Star Wars Universe was a dream come true.
“Look, the only thing I can say is I was incredibly lucky,” Edwards explained to Variety. “I got to make a ‘Star Wars’ film. I won the lottery, in that sense. The idea of someone as privileged as me in any way implying that it was anything other than the amazing experience that it was to some extent — like, I don’t have any empathy for that person, and I don’t want to be that person either.”
Edwards’ refreshing take on the Rogue One reshoots is the humble response you don’t hear often. Will this interview help put the rumors about Rogue One‘s reshoots to rest? Only time will tell.