In some alternate dimension, Jyn Erso and Captain Cassaian Andor ran heroically on the beach of the planet Scarif clutching the Death Star plans and dodging Imperial explosions. But no one will every really know how or why they did that because Gareth Edwards, the director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has said deleted scenes for the film are never going to surface.
Edwards spoke to Fandango on Tuesday and said unequivocally that “there’s not an individual scene that you can drag and drop and put on a Blu-ray,” meaning fans shouldn’t be holding their breath for hints at alternate cuts of the film. Speaking specifically to the much-discussed scene from the trailers in which Jyn faces down a TIE Fighter, Edwards said the scene would have to remain “a myth,” and that its inclusion in the trailers was connected to “marketing” and not “the right version of the movie.”
In this new interview, Edwards did not discuss anything related to the Rogue One reshoots which were overseen by Tony Gilroy. During the pre-release buzz for Rogue One, many speculated that the vast portion of film’s ending was altered, and that creative control was effectively taken away from Edwards. Obviously, Edwards is still given credit for the final film, but a number of scenes and shots — like some kind of beach confrontation between the Jyn, Cassian, and Krennic — were more prevalent in the early promotion of the film and totally absent in the final cut.
Edwards on the set of 'Rogue One'
Edwards seems to deflect all this by sticking by the notion that the final cut of the film is the film, end of story. He even threw a subtle bit of shade at the George Lucas special editions. “If I could go back and do the film knowing what I know now, the final film would be completely different. I’d probably be willing to make Star Wars for the next ten years and never let go of it,” he said. “But at some point, it stops, and it is the movie.”
Rogue One will be released on DVD and Blu-ray March 24.
