Few things are as heartbreaking to movie nerds as the discovery that a highly-anticipated film may not only be delayed but could potentially end up never seeing the light of day. It’s a pain shared by buffs of the cinema and video game variety in a tearful, pleasantly dorky camaraderie, and it seems as though it’s one unfortunate aspect of the various entertainment industries that will never get easier to stomach. One of the latest examples of this comes from the surprise recent delay of Patty Jenkins’Star Wars: Rogue Squadronfilm.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadronhad earned a fair bit of attention since its announcement nearly a year ago. TheWonder Womandirector stated right from the beginning that she had ambitious goals for the movie, inspired by stories from her own past. But it turns out that personal touch may have played a role in its delay.
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Apparently, even though Jenkins fully intended tohonor the legacy ofRogue Squadronwith her movie, Lucasfilm reportedly got a little too in-depth for her liking with its micromanaging even this early on in production. As a result, she allegedly decided to step away from the project for the time being due to those creative differences. This goes pretty well in line with how the studio seems to be going with its multitude of new shows coming out that mostly happen to be connected in some way.
The report comes from former Hollywood Reporter editor Matthew Belloni. He claims that the ultra hands-on approach employed by many of the higher-ups at Lucasfilm, including president Kathleen Kennedy, has driven away a number of potential filmmakers who feel stifled in their creative freedom. Just like how they ignored the perfectsetups in Rian Johnson’sStar Wars: The Last Jedi, now other creators like Jenkins are feeling the pressure too, which kind of kills their enthusiasm.
Depending on what spurned Lucasfilm’s current overprotective practices, it might be understandable why such things are happening. It’s possible that the studio decided to circle the wagons and shoot for much more cohesive stories afterthe failure ofStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerto stick the landing, not to mention the general disjointed feel of the sequel trilogy as a whole. So now they have all these connected Disney Plus shows coming out with very little focus on standalone movies.
Of course, it’s also a distinct possibility that this is just an extension of the practices that made theStar Warssequel trilogy such a structural mess in the first place. It doesn’t matter how well-crafted one movie is if the studio refuses to follow through on the ideas it introduces. Hopefully, Lucasfilm figures these things out soon, because aRogue Squadronmovie still sounds like a dream come true.
