The first STAR WARS spin-off film, ROGUE ONE, hits theaters in little more than 6 month's time, and Page Six is reporting that there may be trouble with the product as it is now, resulting in 4 weeks of reshoots. According to Page Six's source, "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. Gareth’s work on the first GODZILLA shows he can handle a big studio blockbuster, but ROGUE ONE has fallen short of what J.J. Abrams did with STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, so Disney has ordered reshoots. Disney won’t take a back seat, and is demanding changes, as the movie isn’t testing well." Feel free to take that as you will, with our without the salt.
On the flip side, they also have a Disney source that 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.” Sounds more in line with what a studio rep would say, but what does that really mean?
There's a lot more behind-the-scenes talk that makes its way to the internet these days that means we're left to draw our own conclusions based on the smallest tidbits. In the case of ROGUE ONE reshoots, I see no reason to worry even the slightest amount about the final product. Reshoots are very common on a movie as large as this, and regardless of what Disney executives think of this film now, which is a work-in-progress, you need only look at how Disney treats their other properties to react accordingly. Their track record speaks for itself in terms of live-action, animated and Marvel fare. Reaction to the first ROGUE ONE trailer was very positive, so if anything, I'm sure we can expect the final product to live up to the tone set in that first teaser. It's impossible to know what the reshoots will entail at this time, so we'll all have to just wait and see. More Vader? A cameo from Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo? Digitally inserting Jar Jar into the collective Rebel force? See? It could be worse…
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY hits theaters on December 16, 2016.