Star Wars: Rogue One director on reshoots: "We never came up for air until about a week ago"

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Star Wars: Rogue One may look like the finished product now (just look at the trailers!), but the movie had to undergo extensive reshoots – a process which, according to director Gareth Edwards, meant the crew “never really came up for air until about a week ago.”

But fret not, Star Wars fanboys, the galaxy far, far away is in safe hands with Gareth Edwards, a self-proclaimed Star Wars diehard. Speaking to the LA Times, Edwards wanted to do things the right way because “Star Wars is going to live forever if you do it properly.”

Actor Riz Ahmed, who plays ace pilot Bodhi Rook, echoed his director’s words, saying it takes guts to “unpick stitching rather than just to embroider over it.”

For the cast, crew, and everyone involved, Rogue One feels like a real labour of love. The visual effects count may have rocketed up to “nearly 1,700” but Edwards wanted the film to “be more realistic and more grounded.”

It sounds like the Sith didn’t hit the fan and we’re going to get the Star Wars movie we – and Gareth Edwards – have been dreaming about for a long time.

Directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, and Mads Mikkelsen, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is released in the UK on December 15 and the US on December 16.

Images: Lucasfilm/ILM

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.