Fans will finally get to see the firstStar Warsspin-offRogue One: A Star Wars Storyin theaters during Thursday night sneak previews, and theearly reactionsare already incredibly positive. Some have claimed that it’s the bestStar Warsmovie since the original trilogy, but while we continue the countdown towards its release, we have an interesting tidbit about the film, thanks to directorGareth Edwards. While doing press for this spin-off, the filmmaker revealed that there is a planet featured in the movie that is directly inspired by the originalAlien. Here’s what he had to say below.
“Films that I used in there that got high score wereApocalypse Now; a little ofThin Red Line, and there’s a planet in our film that’s very much inspired byAlien. AlsoBlade Runner,THX-1138and of course theoriginal Star Wars.”
Fandangoreveals that this planet is entitled Eadu, which bears quite the striking similarity to LV-426 inRidley Scott’s originalAlien. Unfortunately, the scenes that take place on Eadu were not revealed since they delve intospoiler territory, but you can see in the photos below that Eadu and LV-426 are practically identical, in many ways. Thankfully, we only have one day left to wait to find out what will happen on Eadu inRogue One.
The story is set between the last movie in the prequel trilogy, 2005’sRevenge of the Sith, and the 1977 classic that started it all,Star Wars: A New Hope. This highly-anticipated movie is set in a time of conflict, following a group of unlikely heroes who band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
We reported earlier today thatRogue Oneis eyeing an impressive $350 million worldwideopening weekend. That figure is nowhere close toStar Wars: The Force Awakens' record-breaking worldwide debut of $528.9 million, which included a record-breaking domestic total of $279.9 million, but a $350 million total is certainly a milestone, since only two other movies have made that much all year.Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justicetook in $422.5 million worldwide in March andCaptain America: Civil Warearned $379.5 million worldwide in May. It may also be able to take down this year’s current box office champion, the Pixar sequelFinding Dory, which has taken in $486.2 million, althoughCaptain America: Civil Warcurrently holds the worldwide crown with $1.1 billion.
DirectorGareth Edwards' cast forRogue One: A Star Wars StoryincludesFelicity Jones,Diego Luna,Ben Mendelsohn,Donnie Yen,Mads Mikkelsen,Alan Tudyk,Riz Ahmed, withJiang WenandForest Whitaker.Kathleen Kennedy,Allison ShearmurandSimon Emanuelare producing, withJohn KnollandJason McGatlinserving as executive producers. The story is byJohn KnollandGary Whitta, and the screenplay is byChris WeitzandTony Gilroy. Take a look at this photo of Eadu below, with an image of theAlienplanet LV-426 below it, and sure to check back throughout the weekend to stay on top ofRogue One’s box office progress.
