After so many years of Star Wars movies we've come to expect a few things. Certainly, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the blast of pure nostalgia we all craved, fulfilling our every expectation from a visual and narrative perspective. But with 'Rogue One' opening next month it opens up the opportunity for Disney and Lucasfilm to flip the script, and that's exactly what they're doing because some of the things we've grown accustomed to won't be there.
For a lot of us, our first memories of Star Wars begin with the opening crawl that lays everything out for us. Those huge words scrolling up from the bottom of the screen just set the stage for the epic space opera we were about to witness. Well, they're out, according to Kathleen Kennedy in her conversation with Variety.
“We felt that’s so indicative of what those saga films are. Initially, we probably will begin the film in a way that is traditional, with just the title.”
In a way she's making a lot of sense, but I'd hope they would come up with an opening that was specific to the standalone movies. The last thing I want from them is "traditional."
Something else you won't find in 'Rogue One'? Jedi. The all-powerful Jedi Knights won't have a presence at all, according to special effects supervisor John Knoll, who tells EW that it's time to experience what other people without powers can do...
“Something that’s a very obvious departure on this picture is that we really have no Jedi. This takes place in a time that’s after the Jedi purge in ‘Episode III‘ and before Obi-Wan reemerges and starts training Luke, and before Yoda gets involved. So this is a dark time when things are very bleak and the Jedi have not come back....In that era, there are still brave people who are doing heroic acts, who don’t have those Force powers, who still fight and die for the cause of good,” Knoll added. “And I think, I want to hear some of those stories. What are these people who are the more ordinary citizens of the galaxy who see outrageous acts occurring and feel like they have to take up arms against the status quo to, you know, fight for good.”
I actually think this has been a long time coming, and I'd like to see it stretch into the other spinoffs. 'Rogue One' opens December 16th, and the good news is it's tracking for a $130M opening weekend. Check out a bunch of new photos from EW, Empire, and Total Film.
