There has been a lot of talk (a LOT of talk) about the extensive reshoots to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that changed a great deal of elements in the film. We all know about what scenes were removed from the film that were in the trailer, but it’s harder to pick out which scenes were shot during additional photography. I tried on my second viewing of the movie and relied almost entirely on length of Ben Mendelsohn’s hair. Now one of the film’s editors has revealed that the now-legendary scene of Darth Vader that ends the movie was one of these reshoots.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ROGUE ONE…Why haven’t you seen that already?
At the end of newest Star Wars movie, our heroes succeed in getting the plans for the Death Star off of the planet Scarif, but sadly don’t make it off the planet. It’s fairly well known at this point that none of the heroes making it out alive was part of the retooling process. So once that happens, we’re left following the plans themselves, which are desperately being raced to Princess Leia’s Tantive IV. However, one thing stands in the way…and it’s a black-clad Sith Lord.
The scene of Darth Vader laying waste to Rebel soldiers in a very small corridor, lit only by the red glow of the lightsaber, has been compared (rightly, I think) to Friday the 13th or another such horror movie. It’s really rough, and we see Vader’s might as he Force-chokes and -tosses guys like rag dolls and chops them in half with his saber. According to editor John Gilroy in an interview with Yahoo! Movies (via ScreenRant), none of this was in the original version:
“What was added—and it was a fantastic add—was the Vader action scene, with him boarding the ship and dispatching all those rebel soldiers. That was something conceptualized a little later.â€
He later called it “a really great punch in the arm and something I think fans wanted to see.” While there’s definitely a portion of viewers who thought that a lot of the final act of the movie veered toward fan wanking, most people thought that short scene was pretty amazing, surprisingly brutal, and a cool way to tie him to the hunt for Leia’s ship that begins A New Hope.
And, despite some murmurs that the scene could lead to a Darth Vader spinoff movie, a-la what Marvel is doing in comics form, it’s also very conceivable Rogue One represents the very last big screen appearance of the character. So, why not have him go out on top?
Where did you fall on that final Vader scene? Are you Rebel or Imperial? Let us know in the comments below!
Images: Lucasfilm/Marvel
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
