INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Neil deGrasse Tyson Helping With ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’? Writer Sends Twitter ‘Hail Mary’

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 02:23 PST, Jun 2, 2015

One of the screenwriters of the first Star Wars standalone film has publicly reached out to famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson in an effort to secure his help with the science behind the highly anticipated film.

Chris Weitz is one of the screenwriters of Star Wars: Rogue One, the first of a planned series of anthology or standalone films to be produced by Disney concurrently with the upcoming sequel trilogy. As the Inquisitr has previously reported, Rogue One will focus on the time period before Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, revealing the military missions that brought the plans for the first Death Star into rebel hands. A “sizzle reel” for the project was shown at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, along with concept art that was compared to Halo.

It seems, however, that Weitz needs help with the science behind the film, and he is wasting no time, reaching out to one of the most knowledgeable sources available. On May 31, Weitz sent out a Twitter “hail mary,” asking astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson for assistance.

Tyson has yet to respond publicly as of this writing, but as the Washington Post points out, he has never considered himself a Star Wars fan. Speaking with Business Insider in 2013, Tyson revealed his preference for Star Trek over its competitor franchise, citing the way in which Star Wars addressed the physical sciences.

“I never got into Star Wars,” Tyson said. “Maybe because they made no attempt to portray real physics. At all.”

In speaking about his love for Star Trek, Tyson also stated that he prefers the original series, acknowledging that while Patrick Stewart may be a superior actor in some ways, James T. Kirk remains his favorite captain. Tyson did acknowledge one aspect of Star Wars that he approved of, however: the double sunset that falls over Tatooine as Luke Skywalker contemplates his destiny. Such a display is common in the universe, Tyson noted, though not often captured in film.

It remains to be seen if Tyson will respond to Weitz’s tweet, and whether an influx of accurate physics could turn Neil deGrasse Tyson into a Star Wars fan.

[Photo by Paul Morigi / Getty Images]

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