Star Wars Stories: Comparing Solo to Rogue One

How doesSolo : A Star Wars Storycompare toRogue One ? As the first twoStar Warsspin - offs , audiences will inevitably size these movies up side by side . Conceptually , these two films are the first Star Wars spinoff movie , a whole new character of adventure set in the beloved Galaxy Far , Far Away . Rogue Oneexplored an untold chapter in Star Wars history , revealing the hero who made Luke ’s Death Star run possible;Solo , in contrast , has finally give away the dead on target backstory of the galaxy ’s preferent scoundrel , Han Solo .

There ’s a sense in whichSolo : A Star Wars Storyis blaspheme by the winner ofRogue One . That moving picture broke $ 1 billion at the global box office , cement the idea that a successful Star Wars movie should recrudesce one billion . No studio was ever go to be able-bodied to hold up up to that , but woefully this singular success makesSolo ’s initial box office performance all the more distressingly noticeable . Solohas currently deliveredan estimated $ 83.3 million opening weekendagainstRogue One ’s $ 155 million . Given the sheer scale ofSolo ’s reshoots , it ’s actually potential the film ’s box office wo n’t withhold its costs .

But compare betweenRogue OneandSolohave the potential to be far more instructive than just toss away out figures from the box office . These two Star Wars spinoffs take a subtly different approach , and as a upshot they give veridical insight into just what sort ofStar Warsstory has the potential to perform well . Meanwhile , both productions were actually remarkably troubled - but in the case ofRogue One , fresh marketing forestall tales of the reshoots dominating the conversation . Let ’s take a look at how these two films compare .

Comparing the Concepts of Rogue One and Solo

Let ’s bulge out with the gamy - stratum concepts . When Disney purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012 , the House of Mouse had to make a difficult determination ; would they retain the oldStar WarsExpanded Universe , with its complex web of persistence , or would they erase it ? Disney chose the later , reducing the prescribed canon down to the already - extant cinema and animated shows . Rogue OneandSoloboth exemplify the wiseness of this decision ; both are essentially crowing - screen interpretation of concepts the EU had explore a foresighted time ago .

But that ’s not to say the high - point conception are the same . Rogue Onedirector Gareth Edwards pitched the film to Lucasfilm as a Vietnam War moving-picture show . He literally photoshopped maverick helmets on the tops of photos from conflicts in the Middle East and World War II , and used those as part of his pitch shot to the studio . Edwards be intimate that George Lucas had been shape by the Vietnam War back when he first create Star Wars , and this film was an attack to return to those roots . It gaveRogue Onea unequalled style , and cause the motion picture to cease in a bittersweet fashion , with the demise of the protagonists . The first Rogues had triumphed , but at a terrible cost .

Related:Solo Reuses Footage From Rogue One’s Marketing

In direct contrast , Solo ’s in high spirits - level pitch is a simple one ; it ’s Han Solo ’s origin story . Lucasfilm may have beenproud of Kasdan ’s script , but it runs through this backstory like a checklist . Given the film focus most of it ’s runtime on just a few days , it press all the major events in Han ’s life into a outstandingly scant menstruum of clock time . Within ( what seems like ) less than a workweek , Han has become a smuggler , won the Falcon from Lando , earned a co-pilot in Chewie , and even pulled off the Kessel Run . The stylistic overtones of a heist flick logically flow from the plot , rather than the themes and ideas dictating it as in the character ofRogue One .

Both of these cinema are essentially digressive to the Original Trilogy . In the strictest sense , neither is actually " necessary"in ordination to make sense of the main Star Wars Saga ; while they subtly re-explain some scenes from Lucas ’s original films , it ’s all done so cautiously and reverentially . As a result , both moving-picture show had to vindicate their universe in order of magnitude to win . They both pull it off - butSolo ’s weaker marketing think audiences did n’t actuallyknowthe film force it off beforehand .

The Troubled Productions of the Star Wars Spinoffs

inquisitively enough , bothRogue OneandSolohad significant behind - the - scenes production emergence . In May 2016 , there were reports that Lucasfilm was unhappy with Gareth Edwards ’s cut ofRogue One , with discussion ofextensive reshoots- including claim that up to 40 % of the celluloid would require to be reworked . Tony Gilroy , who wasbrought in to write the reshoots , recently yield a sense of the behind - the - scenes problem . " They were in such a swampland , " he explained . " They were in so much terrible , terrible trouble that all you could do was improve their position . " Gilroy reworked the intact narrative , spot that the script had turn a loss its sozzled focal point . The termination was compressed , explaining why a lot of footage from the trailer was n’t in the net stinger , and Gilroy insisted that the heroes should really give way . " It ’s a picture show about sacrifice , " he explained , and that mean there had to be sacrifice .

The scale of these changes was mostly observe under wraps until the moving-picture show ’s release . Then it became obvious becauseentire sequence from the trailers were missing . Jyn confront down a TIE Fighter , flashback succession boast a younger Saw Gerrera , and of trend Jyn ’s " I rebel " delivery . The Internet fleetly became spell-bound with discuss the reshoots , but there ’s a horse sense in which it did n’t matter ; they had n’t really dominated the on-line narration until after the flick ’s spillage , meaning their wallop on the film ’s repute was muted .

Related:Solo: A Star Wars Story Reshoots: What’s Lord & Miller And What’s Ron Howard?

Solo ’s issues were even more hard , and became the movie ’s main talk spot . The annunciation ofSolohad been greet with more than a little skepticism , but Lucasfilm had dealt with that by earn a surprising choice as to the film ’s theater director ; they pick out Phil Lord and Chris Miller . Unfortunately , deep in the twenty-four hours the " creative differences " between Lord and Miller and Lucasfilm became irreconcilable . The directors were go off , and a thousand rumors swirled online as to the understanding . Lucasfilm hired Ron Howard , a " dependable duo of hands , " to fix the film ; he reportedlyreshot nearly all of it , at almost twice the budget . Where the scale ofRogue One ’s yield issues had been kept mostly under wrap , Solo ’s were public noesis , damage the film ’s report before the merchandising drive had even start to kick into gear . That meant selling forSolowas always be a foxy proposition .

Page 2 of 2:The Marketing and Critical Response to the Star Wars Spinoffs

The Marketing for Solo and Rogue One

Rogue Onewasthe most anticipated movie of 2016 , in big part because it was ride the crest of Disney ’s reinvigorated Star Wars brand . The enfranchisement was sweet and new , and the thought of a Star Wars spinoff was unheard of . Lucasfilm releasedthe first trailerin April 2016 , but dial back on the marketing until about eight weeks before the film ’s discharge . The studio conjoin force play with five world brands - Nissan , Duracell , General Mills , Gillette and Verizon - to partner on an all-encompassing promotional run . The most impressive part of this was Verizon’sRogue One 360 Experience , which placed users in the cockpit of a Rebel starfighter .

ButSolowas released against a very unlike context . The merchandising of mod blockbusters tend to kick back off six or seven month before release , and by the end of 2017 viewers were enquire just where theSolotrailer was . The problem for Lucasfilm was thatSolowas secrete too soon afterStar Wars : The Last Jedi , and the studio did n’t really want to be advertize two films at once . As a resultant , thefirst trailerforSolowasn’t in reality release until the Super - Bowl Weekend in February , just three months beforeSolowould hit theater . A strong TV hunting expedition last kicked off in April , bear out by some creative fresh coming such asa video - tour of the Falcon(hosted by Donald Glover ) andanother 360 degree experienceset around Han and Lando ’s game of Sabacc . This time around , promotional partners include Nissan , Snapchat , Google , Esurance , Norton , and Solo Cups . Solopremiered at Cannes in an attempt to repel conversation that was n’t particularly successful .

Related:Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Director Problems - What Really Happened

In hypothesis , Solo ’s marketing should have worked . In realness , the cinema was releasing too soon after the last Star Wars movie , and Lucasfilm ’s reluctance to market two films at once meant things kicked off far too late . Making matters worse , the departure of Lord and Miller had already turn public opinion onSolo , and marketing had launched too late to enchant viewer ' attention .

The Critical Reaction to the Spinoffs

Critical response toRogue Oneleft Lucasfilm delighted . The cinema settle at 85 % on the Tomatometer , give it a score on Rotten Tomatoes that ’s actually mellow thanReturn of the Jedi . Star Felicity Jones received particular praise , as did K-2SO . Inour revaluation , we describedRogue Oneas " a rouse sci - fi drama packed with thrill action at law set - pieces , charming theatrical role , and fun nods for viewers at all levels of Star Wars fandom . " critic and viewers likewise were enthralled by the movie ’s " shades of gray " morals , which explore some of the darker ideas of what it intend to be a Rebel in the Star Wars galaxy . While the plastic film was hardly viewed as perfect , it was genuinely seen as add something of marvelous value to the Star Wars Saga .

Solomay not have performed well in term of the box spot , but critics have actually been fairly confident about the motion-picture show . It presently sit at 70 % on the Tomatometer , which is sure enough nothing to be ashamed of . It ’s been praised as a fun - albeit rather bland - prequel movie . WhileSolowas praised for being the most intimate Star Wars movie to date , it just was n’t seen as a jeopardy - taker . Most fit that Alden Ehrenreich performed well as the titular hero , but in truthSolojust did n’t succeed the critics over in the wayRogue Onedid .

The line between the vital responses essentially orbit around the word " risk . “Rogue Oneactually dared to take risks in the Star Wars galaxy , telling a different sort of tale to the ones viewers have seen before . In direct contrast , Ron Howard ’s dextrous reshoots removed all signified of risk fromSolo(assuming it was there previously ) , result in a film that ’s perfectly acceptable - but frankly fairly generic .

Din Djarin and Ahsoka-1

Ultimately , the sad true statement is that the equivalence betweenRogue OneandSolois between one film that succeeded beyond Lucasfilm ’s wildest Hope - and another that has sadly underperformed . Looking back , though , comparing these two film offers instructive deterrent example as to just whySolois scramble . AsRogue Oneproved , trouble during product can be whelm , and reshoots do n’t need to be a problem for a film . What you need , in orderliness to make a success of even a Star Wars movie , is both a strong central concept and a sure-footed selling push .