On Friday, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” will do yet another big marketing push, with a live stream event on Twitter hosted by People magazine. But until then, the well of news seems to have run a bit dry, but here we are writing about this rather obvious tidbit anyway.
In an announcement that will be shocking to no one, producer Kathleen Kennedy confirmed in the pages of Empire (via Slashfilm) that there won’t be a sequel to ‘Rogue One.’ Well, no shit, because there’s one already, and it’s called “Star Wars.” Even director Gareth Edwards made it clear by quipping that any sequel “will be directed by George Lucas.”
Now, does that mean there can’t be a spinoff-style story about Jyn Erso or that K-2SO can’t pop up in ‘Episode IX’? Of course not. But the standalone story of ‘Rogue One’ is just that, and if the rumors are correct, the finale essentially finishes where “Star Wars” begins. So if you foolishly thought there might be a “Rogue Two,” put those notions to rest.
Meanwhile, Tony Gilroy is being paid handsomely for his extensive reshoot work — he both rewrote the script and directed — with THR reporting he’ll have an extra $5 million to spend this Christmas. Gilroy’s involvement didn’t come cheap, with the respected and high-priced scribe earning $200,000 per week of work on the picture, and if you do the math, that was quite some time working in a galaxy far, far away. Intriguingly, the trade notes that among the issues Gilroy was brought in to fix included the ending to the movie. Could he wind up being the real hero of the film?
We’ll find out when “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” arrives on December 16th.