Looks like not all is well with the Star Wars Standalone film “Rogue One”.  The Hollywood Reporter has said that reshoots have been scheduled after it was deemed to not fit the “tone of the franchise”.

While it can be hoped that director Gareth Edwards wasn’t given complete free reign to do what he willed with the movie (after all, in spite of being a standalone film it IS part of a franchise), comments he made during the recent Star Wars Celebration seem to suggest just that. “It’s called ‘Star Wars,'” he told the Celebration audience, “(It’s) about the fact that god’s not coming to save us, and we’re on our own.”  He also added that Rogue One will be more morally ambiguous than the other movies.

One of Star Wars’ most defining elements is that good and evil are very clearly defined.  There is no mistaking Darth Vader and The Empire for good guys and there is no mistaking The Rebels for villains.  It was designed that way from the ground up.  The opening crawl for Star Wars A New Hope defines this moment as a good one.  The Rebels have “won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.”  That there is always hope is another one of Star Wars’ most endearing features.  I don’t think that should be tampered with.

There are also rumors circulating that they want to use Rogue One to help set up Alden Ehrenreich’s young Han Solo character…which doesn’t make much sense as this movie immediately proceeds “A New Hope”. A “young” Han Solo would have occur almost 10 years before Rogue One given that Harrison Ford was in his 30s during Star Wars.

It should be interesting to see what happens with Rogue One and how, or if, it will effect the rest of the standalone films and how they are filmed and managed.

Star Wars “Rogue One” is scheduled Dec 16, 2016.