Star Wars writer Tony Gilroy on Rogue One reshoots: "They were in so much terrible, terrible trouble"
But Gilroy says the “mess” the project was in when he stepped in to salvage it was “actually very, very simple to solve”
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writer Tony Gilroy has spoken out for the first time about his role in reworking the spin-off.
Gilroy, who was drafted in at a late stage to contribute to Gareth Edwards’ movie, said the film was “just in so much terrible, terrible trouble that all you can do is improve their position."
He described the situation when he arrived as “a mess” and “such a swamp.”
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Gilroy, who was speaking on The Moment With Brian Koppelman podcast on Monday, said that he knew how to solve the film’s issues straight away.
"If you look at Rogue, all the difficulty with Rogue, all the confusion of it … and all the mess, and in the end when you get in there, it's actually very, very simple to solve," Gilroy said.
"Because you sort of go, 'This is a movie where, folks, just look. Everyone is going to die.' So it's a movie about sacrifice."
He also explained at what point during production his changes were made. "I came in after the director's cut. I have a screenplay credit in the arbitration that was easily won," said Gilroy.
Not being a fan of Star Wars himself, Gilroy did not feel intimidated by joining the project.
"I've never been interested in Star Wars, ever,” he said. “So I had no reverence for it whatsoever. I was unafraid about that.
"And they were in such a swamp … they were in so much terrible, terrible trouble that all you could do was improve their position."
Will Gilroy return to the Star Wars franchise in future? "It doesn't appeal to me," he said. "But I don't think Rogue really is a Star Wars movie in many ways. To me, it's a Battle of Britain movie."
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