While there are a lot of very different opinions when it comes to the modern Star Wars universe, there seems to be a strong respect, if not an outright admiration for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Gareth Edwards directed the film, and so one might give him most of the credit for the film, but he says he;’s not the person you should really be thanking, as the credit should go to George Lucas.
Gareth Edwards wasn’t without his issues with Lucasfilm on the set of Rogue One, but he got the movie across the finish line, and it made $1 billion in the process. However, Edwards feels that all the credit belongs to the creator, as he tells Uproxx he was just using the tools that George Lucas created. Edwards explained…
I do think there’s a lot of conversation about Rogue One and me and everything. And I honestly feel when I watch Rogue One, the person who doesn’t get enough credit is … George Lucas. Everything that’s great about that movie, you can pretty much trace back to George.
George Lucas hasn’t been directly involved in the Star Wars projects under Disney but he has had occasion to visit the set and talk with the various filmmakers, and it’s clear they all value his input. In addition to creating Star Wars in general, Edwards likely got some specific tips as well from the creator.
Certainly, everybody who creates a movie or TV show in the world of Star Wars owes George Lucas a great deal. Without him, there would be no galaxy, far, far away and while all of Disney’s Star Wars projects have given us entirely new characters, the fact is they’ve also been dependant on many of those that came before. In the case of Edwards, his iconic Darth Vader scene in Rogue One is something he still gives Lucas all the credit for. He continued…
And even the Darth Vader scene that lots of people talk about? I can’t take credit for it. Because it’s all George. You know what I mean? And if you see, it’s not a character from my film, it’s Star Wars. And we got to play in that sandbox for a bit and so I wouldn’t complain about any of it. I’d do it again if I had a time machine.
A lot was made of the reshoots that took place as part of Rogue One. While reshoots are standard practice for movies of that scale, those appeared to be more significant than most, but by and large it appears they helped, as the movie was a solid hit. If everybody could play in George Lucas’ sandbox the way Gareth Edwards did, and apparently would again, the fans would all be very happy.
Edwards is back with his first sci-fi movie in seven years with The Creator. A completely original story, and thus one that Gareth Edwards can take full credit for this time.