This is not shaping up to be a great weekend for Disney. After their latest release, Alice Through the Looking Glass, bombed hard at the box office over the holiday, new reports reveal that their licensed galaxy far, far away is having some troubles hitting close to home.
According to Page Six, the studio’s first Star Wars spinoff film, Rogue One, will have to undergo some expensive reshoots over the summer. Executives are apparently unhappy with director Gareth Edwards’ first cut, and they will take this time to fix the blockbuster on their own terms. The reshoots will commence for four weeks in July.
There’s no clear word yet on what Disney doesn’t like about the upcoming sci-fantasy picture, but it has allegedly “fallen short” of the tall order laid by J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens and is now “testing poorly.” Widely considered a darker chapter in the series, Rogue One follows resistance fighters as they embark on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star, all before it can be used to enforce the Emperor’s cruel rule. It’ll take place between the events of Episode III and IV. Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Diego Luna and Forest Whitacker round out the cast. It’s scheduled for release on December 16… at least, for now.
A Disney source added,
“The filmmaking team and the studio always anticipated additional shooting and second unit work to make the film the absolute best it can be, and the actors were aware there would be additional shooting. Coming off ‘The Force Awakens,’ there’s an incredibly high bar for this movie and we have a responsibility to the franchise and to the fans to deliver the best possible movie we can.”
Source: Page Six
