Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One was the first anthology movie announced post the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm in 2012; the year after Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens had enticed and delighted audiences across the world. The rogue one, you might say...

Rogue One, born of the simple question "how did the Death Star plans end up with Princess Leia?" is probably most famous for its CGI recreations of Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia, and its enduring of lengthy re-shoots to change the narrative of the third act and insert additional scenes. To be honest, it's not as dramatic a change as people think it is. The trailer contained shots that were never intended to even be in the finished movie.

Grand Moff Tarkin.... well that's another issue entirely. At least Carrie Fisher was alive to approve her younger likeness....

As a spin-off of the existing Skywalker Saga, Rogue One remains separate to the existing story enough to be talked about independently, but connected enough to matter in the timeline between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope.

In fact, I'd argue it enriches the world of Star Wars. It shows the true sacrifice of rebellion; the nameless soldiers who gave their lives for a greater cause are given names. It's a powerful reminder on the cost of war. We never hear about Jyn, Cassian, Chirrut, Baze, Bodhi, Saw or K-2SO ever again (ignoring the fact that we can't, because the characters didn't exist in 1977!!) because we never hear the names of soldiers lost to war.

Moral, ethical and character issues aside, it remains one of my favourite Star Wars movies. Not the favourite, but certainly up there. It's enjoyable, with some great cinematography, memorable characters, and like all rebellions, it's built on hope.

Right now, we could all do with a little more of that.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Rogue One! You can get in touch on

Twitter @verbaldiorama

Instagram @verbaldiorama

Facebook @verbaldiorama

YouTube @verbaldiorama

Letterboxd @verbaldiorama

or you can email me general hellos, feedback or suggestions:

verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com

Thank you to patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin and Cat for supporting Verbal Diorama.

You can rate or review the show at Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and I'd very much appreciate that!

My website is at https://verbaldiorama.com

Thanks to the following for their contributions to this episode:

Twitter peeps

@geeksaladradio

@derekjones198

@robinhoodpod

@NerdsWithFriend

@MoviesWork

@TheMidnightMyth

@DeepintoHistory

@PulpCereal

@AlamoLauren

@CalumTheFilmGuy

@Oral_mfc

@OSWpodcast1

@waffles_mario

Instagram folk

@_lady_hendo_

Facebook chums

Erik Carlson

Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe Facebook

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy