‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ is reportedly in crisis.
The highly-anticipated movie – which stars Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker and Diego Luna – has reportedly left Disney bosses unimpressed and they have ordered director Gareth Edwards to do some expensive reshoots in order to improve the first spin-off saga in the franchise.
A source told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column:
"The execs at Disney are not happy with the movie, and ‘Rogue One’ will have to go back into four weeks of expensive reshoots in July."
Though it was recently revealed the filmmaker will not direct ‘Godzilla 2’ later this year so he can "focus on smaller films", he reportedly had to make the decision so he can dedicate more time to ‘Rogue One’.
The source said: "Gareth’s work on the first ‘Godzilla’ [which came out in 2014] shows he can handle a big studio blockbuster. But ‘Rogue One’ has fallen short of what J.J. Abrams did with ‘Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.’ So Disney has ordered reshoots.
"Disney won’t take a back seat, and is demanding changes, as the movie isn’t testing well."
Though no official representatives have commented on the claims, an insider at Disney insisted there was always plans in place for another round of filming.
The source said: "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."
The movie is believed to be set at a time between the events of ‘Episode III’ and ‘Episode IV’ and reportedly sees resistance fighters embark on a mission to steal plans for the Death Star before it can be used by the Emperor’s cruel regime.
Alden Ehrenreich, who was recently cast at a young Han Solo for another spin-off, is tipped to make a cameo appearance in the film.