Star Wars film to be released as a one-off, standalone was a widely regarded success by both critics and fans – no easy feat when it comes to the franchise.
The lead up to the release of Rogue One came with no small amount of questions and concerns. Chronologically, the film is set before always been a carefully surveyed entity. Even with its sale to Disney, what does and doesn’t make it into any given movie in the iconic chronology is no easy decision. Tradition and necessity make up a big part of the criteria, and stature doesn’t guarantee free reign.
Such was the case with Edwards when it came time to dive into the new world that he was about to help create. It may seem as though as a Star Wars director would be able to at least come up with the names of planets in the story they were assigned with telling, but this just isn’t how things work. During a recent live Q&A from Cinefix on YouTube with Rogue One writers Chris Weitz and Gary Whitta, it was revealed that Edwards was given the privilege of naming just one Star Wars planet, and that planet was Scarif. The name itself came from a Starbuck’s barista’s misinterpretation of Edwards’ first name, Gareth. You can check out the full Q&A via the Cinefix link.
Though he was only given the go-ahead to name one planet, tropical paradise of Scarif. Granted, Scarif’s aesthetics were marred by war, but of course, no one wanted to see a Star Wars film that didn’t involve protracted battles and courageous heroes.
If there’s one specific thing we can take away from this new bit of Star Wars trivia, it’s that LucasFilm and Disney may have been the target of numerous fan complaints over the years, but this is one instance in which the franchise’s strictness was warranted. No one could have known precisely how Rogue One would fare, and to introduce a new film with new characters that was strictly a one-off affair was a challenge. Had Edwards been allowed free reign with creating whatever he wanted, it could have run the risk of oversaturating a franchise that has very painstakingly built up its cinematic universe. As it stands, Edwards did an excellent job, and Scarif will always be ed as a pivotal location in the saga’s history.
Source: CineFix via YouTube
