Rogue One writer defends Galen Erso's actions

Gary Whitta took to Twitter to answer a few questions about the film and how it fits into the Star Wars universe

Clarisse Loughrey

Thursday 22 December 2016 12:43 GMT

*WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY AHEAD*

One of the most interesting aspects of the first of the Star Wars anthology films, Rogue One, is how much it muddies the waters morally with its heroes' actions and perspectives; especially when so much of the franchise in the past has focused on characters stuck between the diametric choice between good and evil.

Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) must struggle with the less-than-savoury actions he committed for the good of the Rebel Alliance, while Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) carries the dark baggage of having defected from the Empire.

Most conflicted of all, surely, is Mads Mikkelsen's Galen Erso: the brilliant, kind-hearted scientist who still ends up aiding the Empire in constructing the Death Star; though he's able to leave behind one last act of defiance by creating the fatal flaw in the Death Star's constructions which leads to the climax of its destruction in A New Hope.

It's natural for fans to question his actions and what drove them, which is perhaps why Galen became such a recurring topic during a Twitter Q&A hosted by one of Rogue One's screenwriters, Gary Whitta.

"He was always a pacifist," Whitta tweeted. "His act of defiance in sabotaging DS-1 makes him a Rebel for sure. He risked his life to do it. In the writing it was always intended as an act of defiance and also a way to unmake what he was forced to help make."

"That's the real tragedy," Whitta also wrote, in reference to the idea his work was originally intended to be used for free energy on developing planets. "All of Galen’s genius and good intentions corrupted in the purpose of something truly horrific."

Whitta also shared a few interesting revelations in his Twitter chat, including the fact actual nerf herders - as in, "scruffy-looking nerf herder" - appeared in the original Rogue One script.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

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1/13[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

'I rebel'

Straight off the bat, that instantly infamous line from Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso - "This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel" - is missing from the final cut. Probably a good thing, considering nobody needs Jyn's entire character motivation spelled out in quite such obvious terms.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Moody Orson Krennic

This brilliantly moody shot from the film's teaser never makes it into the final cut, but there's a good chance it was never intended to, having all the hallmarks of footage deliberately shot for the trailer.

Walt Disney Studios

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Moody Jyn Erso

The same goes for this look at Jyn Erso in her Imperial disguise, which definitely has the look of a promotional shot to it.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

'What will you become?'

The look at Jyn's Imperial outfit coincides with the final line of a cut monologue from Saw Gerrera: "What will you become?" The confusing part here is that Saw is seen with the close-cropped hair he sports only in the prologue scenes, when Jyn is only a child. When she visits him in Jedha, his hair is much fuller and he's sporting a beard. So, was this speech somehow originally delivered to Galen Erso in a cut prologue segment? In the context of Galen's work with the Empire and his later attempts to evade them, Saw's words would make a lot more sense.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

And Moody Darth Vader

Potentially another promo shot, considering this was used as the very first reveal of Darth Vader in the trailers.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Krennic and Vader

However, this shot also shows a cut scene between Krennic and Vader, in which the former talks about the "power we are dealing with here".

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

'The captain says you are a friend. I will not kill you'

K-2SO has many similar lines directed to Jyn throughout the film, but they're a lot less sinister than this one.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Captured rebel pilots

This shot from Jedha is missing. It doesn't exactly add anything to the story, but it's an added touch of grit which sets the tone nicely in the trailers.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

'Good.' 'Good.'

A cut moment between Jyn and Cassian, though it's a little hard to tell where this comes from - there's no moment where Jyn sits as co-pilot on the U-wing, since it's usually K-2SO in the seat.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Jyn faces off against a TIE fighter

What's interesting is that this shot of Jyn limping across the Scarif communications tower is, of course, in the final film. It's just that the TIE fighter is entirely absent. Was this a cut moment? Was Krennic piloting that thing? Or was it even just cut into the trailer to keep audiences off the scent?

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Krennic on the Scarif beaches

And what about this great shot of Krennic marching amongst the dead? The set-up and lighting seem to imply he survives the initial battle without getting shot by Cassian, and is on the ground when the Death Star destroys Scarif - if that's indeed the source of the glow in the background.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Jyn and Cassian in the Scarif battle

In fact, the trailer footage seems to hint at a drastically different ending, which may point to what exactly got changed during the re-shoots. We see multiple shots of Jyn and Cassian running along the Scarif beach with the Death Star plans. Considering the battle is still in full swing, it suggests the archives and the communications tower may have been separate locations in the original version.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO running through Scarif base

And here, again, we see Cassian, Jyn, and K-2SO running with the data plans through the Scarif base. That means the droid wasn't originally meant to die (or whatever happens to droids) defending the archive room.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is out in cinemas now.

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