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‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ Is ‘An Experiment, Of Sorts,’ Says Disney CEO

By Darien Cavanaugh
Published on: 15:43 PST, Sep 23, 2016

During a presentation at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia 2016 Conference in New York, Disney CEO Bob Iger referred to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as “an experiment, of sorts,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Rogue One, the eighth installment in the Star Wars franchise, is scheduled to open on December 16.

Variety summarized the plot of Rogue One as “a band of resistance fighters unite for a daring mission to steal the Death Star plans.”

Rogue One is set in the period between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope. Many of the primary characters from the original Star Wars trilogies, including Luke Skywalker, are absent from the storyline. It is also, as of now, at least, a stand-alone film, not directly linked to a trilogy.

The absence of Skywalker and the stand-alone aspect are why Iger referred to it as an experiment.

“This is a moment in time, and we’ve loved what we’ve seen,” The Hollywood Reporter quoted Iger as saying.

Iger also announced that the director for a ninth episode, due out in 2019, recently pitched a storyline to the studio. A writer is also developing a 10th episode planned for 2020.

It should come as no surprise that Iger is willing to take risks and experiment with the franchise. And, worst come to worst, it’s not like he could do any more damage than that created by Episodes I through III of Star Wars.

Iger took over as CEO of Disney in 2005 and immediately started making major changes, jettisoning Miramax and Touchstone, and acquiring Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar. That was an experiment in itself.

In Iger’s opinion, Hollywood had saturated the market. Too many films were being made, and the returns on investments “were not impressive,” he said, adding, “too many movies were being made, too many bets being made, too much money being spent,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

His plan was to make “fewer but even bigger bets,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s paid off. At the conference, Iger boasted that the global box-office average for the 29 films produced by Disney since the acquisitions of Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar is “a hair under $800 million,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“We figured out how to improve the odds of making good films,” Iger said.

Another bold and unusual move by Iger was deciding to focus on producing the movies solo, without any assistance or financing from other studios.

“We don’t need money,” Iger said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“We’re in the business of taking big risks… outside money is of absolutely no interest to us.”

The second installment of The Force Awakens trilogy is due out in 2017. The Independent reports that producer Kathleen Kennedy has confirmed all of the main characters from The Force Awakens will be returning for the sequel. There are also rumors that an episode focusing on a young Han Solo is planned for 2018, and even an episode dedicated the backstory of bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) and stars Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Jimmy Smits, and Donnie Yen.

Rogue One appears to be an experiment in mood as well. It is likely to take on a generally starker tone than some of the previous installments.

“The absence of the Jedi is omnipresent,” Variety quoted Rogue One director Gareth Edwards as saying.

“It’s about the fact that God’s not coming to save us… we have to do this ourselves. It comes down to a group of individuals that don’t have magic powers… that have to bring hope to the galaxy.”

If the previews are any indication, the Rogue One experiment looks certain to succeed.

[Featured Image by Jesse Grant/Getty Images]

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