Could Dave Filoni have directed one of Rogue One's most divisive moments? A Star Wars actor confidently believes so, as Freddie Prinze Jr., who voiced Kanan Jarrus in Star Wars: Rebels, stated the fact during a recent episode of the Lights, Camera, Barstool podcast. Prinze Jr. was even hesitant to reveal the information, arguing that he wasn't sure if he was allowed to disclose who had helmed the scene of the movie where Darth Vader mercilessly powers through a Rebel Alliance squadron. Here's what the actor had to say regarding who helmed the scene for Lucasfilm:
Maybe I’m not allowed to say this, (but) Dave Filoni directed that scene in Rogue One where Vader comes through and you see basically what’s going to happen in “A New Hope.” He directed all that.
The sequence in question from the 2016 spin-off film came during the final minutes of the story, when the Rebel Alliance is trying to escape with the stolen Death Star plans. As a small group of soldiers tries to advance through a hallway, the door is suddenly stuck, and the lights go out. The Rebels are left confused and alone in the dark, until they hear one of the franchise's most iconic sound effects: Darth Vader's breathing. The Sith Lord proceeds to exterminate his enemies, but the plans are still transferred to another ship, falling into the hands of Princess Leia and bringing hope to the galaxy.
In an interview with Collider, about four months after the film had hit theaters, the movie's director, Gareth Edwards, explained that the sequence wasn't in the original script for the movie, and the whole idea was developed around four months before the release of Rogue One. The short amount of time left in the schedule meant that the team at Lucasfilm had to move quickly in order to add the scene to the final cut of the film:
That was an enlightened idea, very late in the day, from one of the editors in the film, Jabez [Olssen], who pitched it. He said it a few times and I thought, “It’s a great idea but we’re not going to be able to do it now because we’re about 4 months at most away from release” and we were coming to the end of all the pick-up shooting that we were doing. Then he said it to Kathy [Kathleen Kennedy] and Kathy said, “I love that” and then suddenly before I knew it we were in Pinewood shooting that scene. So I’m so pleased we got to do that.
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John Gilroy, the editor for the film, agreed that the scene itself had been added to the movie after the team had wrapped principal photography. Screenwriter Gary Whitta claimed that he didn't even write the scene when he was putting together Rogue One's story, but remarking that it was his favorite moment from the film.
It remains to be seen if an official source will confirm who was in charge of directing the sequence but, in the meantime, you can replay as many times as you want, as Rogue One is available to stream on Disney+. You can also check out our interview with The Mandalorianstar Pedro Pascal below:
