'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Reshoots Planned After Disney Reportedly Unhappy With First Cut

I've got a bad feeling about this. Well, at least a worried feeling. Most fans were riveted by the first teaser trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first spin-off film that takes place outside of the traditional trilogy narrative. However, if a new rumor is to be believed, now that Disney has seen the first cut of the movie, they're not very happy with the what director Gareth Edwards has done. In an attempt to repair the movie, some "expensive reshoots" have been planned. Find out more after the jump.

Page Six has has the story about the Rogue One reshoots. Despite being a prime source for pointless gossip, they seem to have a prime Star Wars insider since they were the first to report on Alden Ehrenreich landing the role of young Han Solo. Their unnamed source says:

The execs at Disney are not happy with the movie, and 'Rogue One' will have to go back into four weeks of expensive reshoots in July.

Gareth's work on the first 'Godzilla' shows he can handle a big studio blockbuster. But 'Rogue One' has fallen short of what J.J. Abrams did with 'Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.' So Disney has ordered reshoots.

There aren't any specifics as to what Disney was unhappy with, but if the trailer is any indication, there's a chance this movie may not be quite as upbeat or lighthearted as the previous Star Wars movies. The Rogue One trailer was certainly darker and more somber than fans expected, but that didn't stop them from getting excited. But with audiences not being fully on board with darker blockbuster fare lately (Warner Bros. decided to add more action to Suicide Squad to make it more fun after Batman v Superman criticism), Disney may be looking to shift the tone a bit.

That's just speculation on our part, but the plan for reshoots does indicate there are some fixes Disney wants, and they'll get their way. Page Six's source adds, "Disney won't take a back seat, and is demanding changes, as the movie isn't testing well." Has Disney tested the film with a small general audience, or is it just not testing well among Hollywood insiders? It's hard to tell, but if an audience has seen it and it didn't test well, then that's not a good sign either.

However, Disney is playing it cool with regards to the reshoots, with a studio representative telling Page Six:

The filmmaking team and the studio always anticipated additional shooting and second unit work to make the film the absolute best it can be, and the actors were aware there would be additional shooting. Coming off 'The Force Awakens,' there's an incredibly high bar for this movie and we have a responsibility to the franchise and to the fans to deliver the best possible movie we can.

Reshoots are always part of the production for any blockbuster. But the industry gossip circles have been buzzing with worry about the state of Rogue One recently, and this report seems to confirm those concerns. There is a chance these reshoots aren't anything out of the ordinary. After all, cast member Donnie Yen himself recently mentioned that he was heading back to London for more Rogue One photography. If the reshoots were that urgent, Yen may not have mentioned them at all. But we can't be sure.

The good news is that with reshoots planned, Disney thinks the movie can be fixed. There are plenty of movies that have had issues like this but turned out just fine, so we'll just have to keep hoping for the best. Director Gareth Edwards has been known to be resistant to studio interference with his movie, but this is Disney we're talking about, and they have a lot riding on each and every Star Wars movie.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens December 16.