There are only a select few directors who still shoot their movies on film rather than digitally. We've seen Quentin Tarantino leading that charge, most recently with The Hateful Eight being shot in 70mm, and JJ Abrams has been part of that movement to keep film alive, too. Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been shot in analog on 35mm with specific sequences in IMAX. But what about Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII? What about the Anthology movies? It looks like we'll be getting a mix of the old school and the new.
First up, THR reports that Gareth Edwards' Rogue One spinoff will be shot digitally using the Arri Alexa 65, providing an eye-popping 6K resolution. This is similar to the IMAX version of the camera the Russo Brothers will be using to shoot all of Captain America: Civil War, and basically it should look mind-blowing and slick and incredibly cool.
As for Johnson, he plans to stick with the basics for Star Wars: Episode VIII, answering a technical question on Twitter by saying he will shoot in 35mm. What sucks is that it sounds like he really wanted to do it in 65mm, but the needs of the story took precedent, which we all can agree is the right way to go about it.
@LaRabiaCompany I really wanted to, but for some specific logistical reasons we're sticking with 35.
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 10, 2015
Fans of the franchise probably won't be concerned with this aspect one way or another, but it's great that we're seeing Lucasfilm allow their filmmakers to decide what works best.
