Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free
Over the weekend, millions of Star Wars fans finally got to see Rogue One
Surprisingly, the film managed to not only be one of the better Star Wars films but also answer some long running questions regarding A New Hope .
Let’s talk spoilers, shall we? As revealed by director Gareth Edwards before the film’s release, the final 10 minutes lead directly into the original Star Wars trilogy, with Princess Leia being handed the Death Star plans.
Show all 13 1 /13[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film [SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film 'I rebel' Straight off the bat, that instantly infamous line from Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso - "This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel" - is missing from the final cut. Probably a good thing, considering nobody needs Jyn's entire character motivation spelled out in quite such obvious terms.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film Moody Orson Krennic This brilliantly moody shot from the film's teaser never makes it into the final cut, but there's a good chance it was never intended to, having all the hallmarks of footage deliberately shot for the trailer.
Walt Disney Studios
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film Moody Jyn Erso The same goes for this look at Jyn Erso in her Imperial disguise, which definitely has the look of a promotional shot to it.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film 'What will you become?' The look at Jyn's Imperial outfit coincides with the final line of a cut monologue from Saw Gerrera: "What will you become?" The confusing part here is that Saw is seen with the close-cropped hair he sports only in the prologue scenes, when Jyn is only a child. When she visits him in Jedha, his hair is much fuller and he's sporting a beard. So, was this speech somehow originally delivered to Galen Erso in a cut prologue segment? In the context of Galen's work with the Empire and his later attempts to evade them, Saw's words would make a lot more sense.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film And Moody Darth Vader Potentially another promo shot, considering this was used as the very first reveal of Darth Vader in the trailers.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film Krennic and Vader However, this shot also shows a cut scene between Krennic and Vader, in which the former talks about the "power we are dealing with here".
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film 'The captain says you are a friend. I will not kill you' K-2SO has many similar lines directed to Jyn throughout the film, but they're a lot less sinister than this one.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film Captured rebel pilots This shot from Jedha is missing. It doesn't exactly add anything to the story, but it's an added touch of grit which sets the tone nicely in the trailers.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film 'Good.' 'Good.' A cut moment between Jyn and Cassian, though it's a little hard to tell where this comes from - there's no moment where Jyn sits as co-pilot on the U-wing, since it's usually K-2SO in the seat.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film Jyn faces off against a TIE fighter What's interesting is that this shot of Jyn limping across the Scarif communications tower is, of course, in the final film. It's just that the TIE fighter is entirely absent. Was this a cut moment? Was Krennic piloting that thing? Or was it even just cut into the trailer to keep audiences off the scent?
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film Krennic on the Scarif beaches And what about this great shot of Krennic marching amongst the dead? The set-up and lighting seem to imply he survives the initial battle without getting shot by Cassian, and is on the ground when the Death Star destroys Scarif - if that's indeed the source of the glow in the background.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film Jyn and Cassian in the Scarif battle In fact, the trailer footage seems to hint at a drastically different ending, which may point to what exactly got changed during the re-shoots. We see multiple shots of Jyn and Cassian running along the Scarif beach with the Death Star plans. Considering the battle is still in full swing, it suggests the archives and the communications tower may have been separate locations in the original version.
[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO running through Scarif base And here, again, we see Cassian, Jyn, and K-2SO running with the data plans through the Scarif base. That means the droid wasn't originally meant to die (or whatever happens to droids) defending the archive room.
It’s remarkable how well it leads into the first scene from A New Hope , featuring the Rebels defending Princess Leia from Darth Vader and the ongoing Storm Troopers.
As we now know, they were fleeing the intergalactic battle that saw the Death Star plans stolen. Watching the scene with the new information makes it feel somewhat different. Watch below.
Meanwhile, Rogue One has been grossing huge sums of money at the box office , taking the second highest opening for a December weekend, only behind The Force Awakens .
It has also been confirmed that Saw Gerrera will return for season three of Star Wars Rebel s , the TV series set two years before the events of Rogue One .
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies