Aside from being the first theatricalStar Warsspin-off, there are a number of different ways thatRogue One: A Star Wars Storywill be set apart from the seven movies that followed it. The biggest difference is that this will be the first film that won’t follow theLuke Skywalkersaga, telling a much different story set between the events ofRevenge of the SithandA New Hope. This will also be the firstStar Warsmovie that won’t feature a musical score byJohn Williams, withMichael Giacchinotaking over the scoring duties. It was recently confirmed that this movie also will be the firstStar Warsadventure that won’t feature an opening crawl, but, according to LucasFilm’sPablo Hidaldo, the opening crawl was never even part of the script.
Ever since 1977’sA New Hope, the opening crawl set theStar Warsfranchise apart from the pack, giving fans some insight into what happened in this galaxy far, far away that lead up to the events in this story. We first learned about the possibility that there won’t be anopening crawlback in May, when LucasFilm presidentKathleen Kennedyhinted that they wanted to exclude the crawl to keep that element strictly for the “saga films,” although the crawl’s exclusion wasn’t confirmed until earlier this month by directorGareth Edwards. LucasFilm executivePablo Hidalgowas asked by a fan on Twitter if there was any “back and forth” on the opening crawl dialogue in earlier versions of the script, but he revealed that it was never in the script to begin with. Here’s what he had to say below.
The script never had one; always had the prologue. It was always a back-pocket possibility if the movie needed it. It never did."
What’s ironic about the crawl’s exclusion inRogue Oneis that this story itself literally has its origins in the crawl forA New Hope, telling the tale of the Rebels who destroyed an Imperial base. Instead of a crawl, directorGareth Edwardsrevealed the film will open with a prologue that is set 15 years before the story, filling in some of the large gap betweenRevenge of the SithandA New Hope. The prologue will focus on young Jyn and her relationship with absentee father Galen Erso, who is taken away from their home by new villain Director Krennic to work on the Death Star. Jyn’s mother will also be introduced in this opening, as she teaches Jyn about the force, giving her a Kyber crystal, a mineral that is used to fuel and power the Death Star.
What remains to be seen is how fans will react to the lack of a crawl. Theearly reactionstoRogue Onewere all incredibly positive, and the film currently has an impressive 84% score on Rotten Tomatoes, so it seems the critics weren’t too bothered by it. The fans, however, may be a different story, given how iconic the crawl has become in this franchise’s 34-year history. Still, the film is predicted to open huge at the box office this weekend.
Early projections revealed that LucasFilm was eyeing a $130 million domestic opening, while another report from yesterday claimed that the movie could surpass $350 million worldwide on itsopening weekend. Only two films have had a bigger worldwide debut this year,Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice($422.5 million) andCaptain America: Civil War($379.5 million), but if the strong critical responses carry over to the fan base, positive word of mouth could push this spin-off to new heights at the box office. While we wait for the numbers to roll in this weekend, take a look atPablo Hidalgo’s tweet below, where he reveals there was never an opening crawl forRogue One: A Star Wars Story.
