By now, you’ve probably seen the excellent Rogue One on the big screen.
You may also have walked out of the cinema wondering if you had remembered the trailers
correctly.
Fear not, your memory isn’t deserting you, as Rogue One went through extensive reshoots
and accompanying script changes.
So how much did the original version differ from the final cut that was released?
Welcome to the Final Frontier as we try and uncover the threads of the original cut of
Rogue One.
Most of the evidence we’ll be looking at comes from the trailers and celebration reel
released over the course of last year.
Jyn Erso: anti-hero to regular hero?
There is evidence to suggest the final film may have re-dressed Jyn Erso’s character,
perhaps to make her less of an anti-hero and more of a traditional hero.
For example, the read-through of Jyn’s crimes is cut from the final film.
Interestingly, this means that one of the most iconic lines from the trailers is also
missing:
There are also indications that her relationship with Saw was edited, perhaps because Saw was
essentially what the Western world would label as a terrorist.
Saw’s heavier involvement in the plot is indicated by further shots of him at an earlier
age, perhaps these would have been scenes with him raising and training Jyn.
Some cut dialogue maybe even indicates why Jyn and Saw eventually parted ways, with Saw
maybe not wanting her to follow in his path and become what he has become…
Building Jyn’s team With Saw and Jyn’s relationship de-emphasised,
it perhaps gave way to her further developing her relationship with her new comrades, particularly
with Cassian.
So we had new scenes in the final cut designed to flesh out characters like Cassian and Bodhi
Rook: Cassian’s introduction and Jyn’s escape from the Imperial transporter were
scenes that came from this process.
So this exchange between Jyn and Cassian where she sits in the co-pilots chair was perhaps
part of the cuts relating to the shift in this relationship.
Indeed, we have K-2S0 delivering the following awesome line, which would make less sense
in the final cut as they both would have already met during her rescue.
Change in Jyn’s mission?
It’s possible the reshoots may have changed the nature of Jyn’s mission given by the
Rebellion.
Mon Mothma talks about needing to stop an imminent major weapons test, whereas her actual
mission turns out to be to re-establish contact with Saw.
Of course, these dialogues may have been shot specifically as narrative for the trailers.
Other evidence that may indicate some changes to this portion of the film include scenes
with Darth Vader on the Death Star, whereas he actually ended up with two scenes in the
film – neither one of which was on the Death Star.
One was in his castle on the planet Mustafar with Krennic (where we also have some more
cut dialogue)..
…and we have Vader’s absolutely incredible appearance right at the end of the film (a
scene that was added as part of the reshoots).
Big changes to the final act There were major changes in the third act
of the story.
Whereas the final film saw Jyn and Cassian transmit the Death Star plans via the uplink
tower, there’s lots of evidence to suggest the original ending may have been very different.
This is supported by scenes we see of Jyn, Cassian and K-2SO running from stormtroopers
in Scarif including running along the beach dodging lasers from AT-ACTs.
And take note of two things: 1.
both shots clearly show Jyn carrying the drive with the Death Star plans, indicating that
K-2SO was still alive after they captured the drive, and 2.
Jyn and Cassian are no longer disguised as Imperial officers.
This suggests that the original plan was to try and escape with the plans first, with
behind-the-scenes evidence that Cassian and K-2SO originally died on the beaches of Scarif.
We also have a deleted scene where Baze and Chirrut run from under the legs of an AT-AT.
Their deaths would leave Jyn to resort to transmitting the Death Star plans as a plan
B. Alternatively, the transmission tower and data storage area may originally have involved
two different locations.
Whatever the case, it seems likely there was certainly a larger chase sequence.
We then have one of the most obvious pieces of evidence regarding the change to the third
act; this scene where Jyn Erso faces a TIE Fighter as she walks down the catwalk of the
Imperial tower.
Such an iconic scene and one that probably surprised many who watched the film but this
change has been confirmed to be a by-product of the reshoots.
I would love to know how this scene ended!
One thing to note though is that, although there was some talk about some of the main
characters initially surviving the film, the decision to have the entire team killed in
the final Scarif battle was taken before cameras started rolling, so it’s unlikely that the
original ending had Jyn and Cassian escaping to safety.
Further evidence of a climactic final battle on the beach is shown with this rather funky
shot of Krennic walking across the water.
With the lighting and general mood in the video, with Krennic surrounded by dead Stormtroopers
and smouldering ruins, it would suggest that this scene comes right at the end of the battle
after the rebels succeed in transmitting the plans and seconds after the Death Star has
fired onto the planet.
On the cutting room floor…
Finally, we have some scenes that were probably intended for the trailer only or were lost
as part of the editing process without necessarily being cut due to changes in the narrative.
They are included here in case I have missed some vital clues.
These include some awesome shots including this one of a fallen Jedi statue and captured
rebel pilots, both on Jedha; an awesome mood-setting shot of Krennic on the Death Star, and a C3PO-esque
quote from K-2S0.
But probably the most iconic shot of the trailers was that of Jyn Erso in Imperial armour turning
to look back whilst lights turn on around her.
This missing scene isn’t really missing at all as it was never intended for the film
and was part of some experimental footage shot for fun.
So, do you have any further insights as to what the original cut of the film may have
looked like?
Please do comment below.
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Until the next time, May the Force be with you.