Star Wars: Rogue One Spinoff Reportedly Starts Filming Next Month
The Rogue One spinoff TV show reportedly starts filming next month. With the Star Wars movies on hiatus for the next few years, live-action TV is the franchise's main attraction. Lucasfilm has a full slate of series in development for Disney+, including breakout hit The Mandalorian. Other shows on the horizon include one about Obi-Wan Kenobi and a Rogue One prequel centering around Cassian Andor's days fighting in the Rebellion. The latter has been making its way through pre-production, rounding out the supporting cast. Last month, 6 Underground's Adria Arjona joined Rogue One in a mystery role.
As the entertainment industry gets back to work amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Lucasfilm is putting plans in place to start production on their upcoming projects. Ewan McGregor recently revealed the Obi-Wan show begins shooting next spring, but things have been quiet on the Rogue One front for a while. Now, it looks like that series is rolling the cameras in the very near future.
According to Deadline, the Rogue One spinoff is aiming to start production "next month," which is October 2020 as of this writing. Because of the timeline, the show needed to change directors, with Toby Haynes (Black Mirror) replacing showrunner Tony Gilroy. Gilroy was going to helm a few episodes, but opted out "due to COVID-19 related travel reasons." Gilroy is staying in New York, rather than going to England for the Rogue One shoot.
Back in February, before the coronavirus pandemic took a turn for the worse, Rogue One star Diego Luna said the show would begin production this year. Despite the pandemic-induced shutdowns that took place over the past several months, Rogue One was able to stay on that schedule, which is impressive considering the number of delays other projects have seen. Theoretically, this puts the show on track for a 2021 premiere, though it doesn't have an official release date yet. Of course, that all depends on if Rogue One production goes smoothly. There are inherent risks moving forward with a big-scale production during the pandemic; The Batman was forced to temporarily shutdown when Robert Pattinson tested positive. Hopefully, everything goes according to plan and Rogue One wraps production without any issues.
The Mandalorian has proven to be a tremendous success for Disney+, but the streaming service could definitely use some more original programming to serve as a key draw. The Rogue One spinoff has the potential to be a standout show, combining Star Wars action with a morally-ambiguous espionage story in an interesting package. The Rogue One film hinted at Cassian's dark past, and this show has the ability to flesh out the character further. It's a great sign the Rogue One series is moving forward quickly, and ideally it will add to Star Wars' growing legacy on Disney+.
Source: Deadline