Star Wars: Rogue One Reshoots Are Just a Final Polish Says Mikkelsen
Disney has managed to get Star Wars fans back on board the franchise after the prequels left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The Force Awakens made more than $2 billion worldwide and though some criticized it for not being overly original, it was generally very well liked by fans and critics. The next Star Wars movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has the bar set very high for it, as a result. Consequently, after a first cut of the film was shown to the top brass at Disney, massive reshoots were ordered.
These reshoots have been the subject of a lot of controversy, with some saying as much as 40 percent of the movie needs to be re-shot. There were also rumors that director Gareth Edwards would be essentially getting a babysitter on the set during the reshoots. However, Mads Mikkelsen, who is starring in the film, has weighed in on the reshoots and feels like they aren't a very big deal. Speaking with The Independent, Mikkelsen had this to say.
"Basically, all the big films I have done always have reshoots, it is part of their budget. They're either not super happy with a scene bit, the way we were acting, or maybe there's something they want to add. It's not a new thing, it happens with every film. Whether it's bigger or less, I have no idea, I have nothing to compare with. It's the same film; it's just adding little bits here and there to do the final polishing. That's my feeling."
Mikkelsen has done plenty of big films like Casino Royale and the upcoming Doctor Strange, so he would know what he is talking about. Not only that, but it is widely known that reshoots on massive movies like Rogue One take place all of the time and have become almost standard practice for Disney. However, the initial report went so far as to say the first cut of the film was a "disaster" and that the execs were very unhappy with what they saw and that led to some panic in the media and from fans.
Disney has firmly adopted reshoots in recent years, especially with the Marvel movies, and they typically build time for reshoots into the schedule and budget at the beginning so that it won't be nearly as much of a problem. Sources say that part of the problem has to do with the tone. Edwards by some accounts made Rogue One into a straight up war movie ala Saving Private Ryan and the execs at Disney didn't feel like that was in keeping with the tone of what a Star Wars movie should be.
Disney has been the undisputed king of the box office for the last several years and in no small part is that due to the studio willing to put the money and resources at their disposal into making a quality film. The Force Awakens underwent seemingly similar reshoots somewhat late in the game and the final product was by all accounts a massive success. The bar is very high for Rogue One as the studio has a bunch of other spin off films planned in the Star Wars universe, so this first one has to be a big success. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set for a December 16 release.
