Now, we’re finally seeing regular believers, the people who just believe in the Force. In all the other Star Wars movies, we've seen the Jedi Knights, who are like the pastors in this world. Cassian probably does represent the rebel equivalent of the CIA. When we decided we needed something that represented the whole belief in the Force and Jedi, I couldn't help but think of that. I'd been to Jerusalem on holiday and found the place just mesmerizingly beautiful and stunning-all the different mixes of religion that were all interacting in the street, walking around and seeing thousands of years of history that's affected the entire world. Jedha became a mixture of all sorts of things. It's not done necessarily on purpose, but you're always trying to find the parallel to whatever you're doing in Star Wars, because it's this very abstract, incredibly fantastical thing. Was that something you were thinking about at all? You’ve compared the area a lot to Mecca.
There’s a scene on the planet Jedha that makes the movie almost feel like a Middle Eastern CIA thriller. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and the rest of the cast don’t need to become tentpoles for sequels to come, but they need to be engaging enough to convince us we can keep falling in love with characters outside the Skywalker saga.Ī Guide to the Characters of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Now they’re at the center of the first standalone Star Wars film expected to build a universe to rival Marvel’s. Their efforts were previously an afterthought, mere exposition to allow young Luke to flourish.
Rogue One takes it way back to before Episode IV, focusing on the band of rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star and allowed Luke Skywalker to blow it all up by exploiting an improbably simple vulnerability. While his fandom is unquestioned, he’s been tasked with creating a Star Wars tale unlike any other, in which the Jedi and their lightsabers are absent and our protagonists are more ordinary, down-to-Earth rebels.
Gareth Edwards, 41, was given the director’s chair for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story after making his name as a visual effects artist and directing the Godzilla reboot in 2014. The man in charge of Star Wars’ first foray into universe-building has wanted to be a director since he was a child-mainly because of the George Lucas saga he now finds himself a part of.