Books A/V STAR WARS: ROGUE #$^$%&ING ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

Re: aliens, keep in mind they just started filming--the alien characters might not even have final designs yet. I wouldn't mind more women, but look at that first TFA cast shot--it's too soon to call it an outright problem.

 

I think the "Top Gun in space" stuff was more based off of the (VERY UNDERSTANDABLE) assumption that this would be a X-Wing movie, which it doesn't seem to be.

 

Yeah, I'm sold. WHAT A CAST.

 

MADS MIKKELSEN GUYS

IF HES AN IMPERIAL I MIGHT JUST FORGIVE THEM NOT MAKING THIS A MOVIE ABOUT AN XWING SQUADRON

If he's not Montferrat that will be a lose for Story Group in my mind. There's no reason not to if the artist requisitioned the piece and was approved to resemble Mads.

Either way I'm stoked by the cast and can't wait to see MADS MIKKELSEN IN STAR WARS

 

I doubt the movie and its tie-in authors would want to be limited in any way by a preexisting character who loosely resembles one of the actors according to one piece of artwork. My money is on an entirely new character.

 

Well, I am human. Or Mon Calamarian. Regardless, I can be disappointed from time to time.

Note I didn't say I was outright boycotting the film or hated it, but rather than an old school fan like me can't help but here a movie titled "Rogue One" and NOT hope it is about X-wing pilots.

--Adm. Nick

 

Isn't the character mostly a blank slate though? I don't really much remember his role in Blade Squadron but he came off to me as the regular Imperial villain. Plus, this will come before that, which could mean a lot would be able to change to give space for the character. To my mind, this is where the Story Group could really shine. We know there's a character in the canon that looks EXACTLY like Mads Mikkelsen, and Mads has been cast in the movie. If it was announced that it was Montferrat this would be deemed a massive win for the story group, and his character name hasn't been announced yet so it still could be, despite it being unlikely. I'm just saying that it would be cool if the Story Group pulled that. It would be a coup IMO.

 

Put it this way, if the Empire suddenly unveils massive Force-wielding human-eating monsters that spit acid that dissolve people on-camera, screams and all - that's when it'll have gone too far.

You can actually do an awful lot of dark stuff under the banner of a kid's story, or rather a story that can be viewed by multiple audience age ranges which is Disney's default. That makes the story-telling much harder but also pure gold when it's hit.

We've become too familiar with the idea that telling stories for kids or adults is mutually exclusive, it isn't, but neither is it easy.

It'll be interesting to see the film certification this and TFA gets, as that will indicate the new direction quite clearly. I'd suspect they are going for PG / 12A.

 

It apparently gave him a rather extensive biography, which would at least seem to rule out the important option of killing him off in Rogue One or in some other story following it, not to mention restricting him to a role that there may not even be room for in the movie.

 

Let's be honest here. Kids are gonna watch whatever they want to watch. How many kids play each new Call of Duty game that comes out, or see movies like Mad Max or the Conjuring in the theaters? If it's cool and popular, kids will want to see it, no rating will stop them. If anything, having a higher rating label will make kids want to see it more because it's something they're not supposed to be able to do.

That said, there's no way that Disney and LFL will make an R-rated Star Wars film, at least not for a very long time or if they have a property they are absolutely confident in being able to make money regardless of the rating (see: Deadpool). Star Wars has always been a moderate series content-wise, hovering right on the line between PG and PG-13 where most of the money is there to be made. It's a model that's working very well for Marvel, too. The only really R rated stuff we might get will come via something like Netflix, where the overhead is much lower, where a niche market can be reached without risking poisoning the mainstream well, and where they don't have to worry about box office returns at all.

 

I watched war films when I was a kid. That's basically what this is aiming to be.

Looks great, can't wait for some footage.

 

I'm not particularly bothered about that aspect, it's more that the rating tells us how the people making it are thinking about it, which I'd rate as more important than a kid sneaking in thinking they're going to watch Star Wars Episode XXX.

Having control over what is / isn't done while allowing your creators as much latitude as possible is a tricky balancing, but necessary. There's no point getting kids interested in SW again if you then stick material out bearing its name that is then deemed unsuitable for them. There needs to be a reliable consistency.

If we're honest, over the last 20 years? SW has not had that at all, it's been all over the map.

See I could easily go for a SW version of Where Eagles Dare, watching a plucky Rebel slaughter an entire legion of Stormtroopers. A lot of the old war films though weren't necessarily gory either. Quite a few directors understood that less could be more and that you didn't to spell out the obvious that war was bad, m'kay?

 

Mikkelsen would make a great villain, but he's done that so much. I'd be thrilled to see him get to play a Rebel hero.

Also, that way we'd have a better chance of seeing more of him.

 

They've been very explicit in saying this movie (not all movies or stories going forward) is going to be a bit more gritty than usual. I can't fault them for trying that, since Lucas tried the exact opposite with TPM already. He started the divergence (with the Ewoks in ROTJ, but TPM made it worse).
This is hopefully going to be all about characters like those nameless, faceless troopers from the Battle of Hoth, a mass of everymen instead of "The Chosen One" with a flashy sword. The latter of which we'll be getting in at least three films, anyway.

 

Anything that maximizes the amount of Mads Mikkelsen's screen time is perfectly alright with me, though I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't prefer him as the grand villain of the film to anyone announced so far. Hannibal Lecter in an Imperial uniform would not be a bad look. Or sound.

 

Those Ewoks also got roasted, blasted, crushed, immolated and killed by a slew of other methods by Imperial stormtroopers so traumatising an entire generation of kids! There was nothing that cuddly about the carnivorous little bastards in Jedi either.

If you want an example of gritty story-telling while spinning a multi-age range suitable story, you could do worse than take a look at the DSN ep The Siege of AR-558.

 

He could do a somewhat plausible Crix Madine, couldn't he. Not a perfect match, but played by a well-known actor.

 

I need that cut of ROTJ you seem to be remembering.

 

I'll be honest; with the variety of Marvel movies we're getting, we probably don't have to worry about an R-rated SW film until Boba goes the Deadpool route. Violence alone doesn't seem to cut it these days.

 

And very important in that regard: Deadpool isn't happening at Disney-Marvel, it's something that Fox did in spite of their initial thoughts on the matter; but only because internet reaction to a leaked demo clip was so good, and even then it's a "we can't believe they let us make this movie" movie. I can't see anything inside an established Disney brand (Marvel or Star Wars) stray too much from what they know they can sell to their preferred audience.