That ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Trailer Looked Great, But How Much of It Will Actually Be in the Movie? (Commentary)
Both of the previous movies in the Disney era of “Star Wars” were missing significant scenes and dialogue from their marketing campaigns
Phil Owen | April 14, 2017 @ 12:01 PM
Last Updated: April 14, 2017 @ 12:10 PM
Disney/LucasFilm
Look, I know we all love a good “Star Wars” hype session, but it really is important to keep things in perspective right now while we’re all basking in the first trailer for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” It is, admittedly, a very cool trailer. The style on display is really striking, as is the new balanced philosophy of the Force it seems to be presenting.
But instead of getting overly excited about what we saw today, we should take a step back and remember that “Star Wars” marketing is hardly trustworthy these days. Personally, I’m more wary of “Star Wars” marketing now than I’ve ever been before — and that’s saying something after the disastrous prequel era.
My skepticism is certainly warranted. Marketing for the prequels wasn’t full of scenes that weren’t in those movies. The trailers for “The Force Awakens” and “Rogue One,” on the other hand, very much were.
While “The Force Awakens” set off warning bells for the absence of seemingly significant trailer dialogue and scenes here and there, “Rogue One” took that to another level completely. We are, after all, talking about a movie which was still including scenes that were cut in TV spots through its release in theaters. My friends and I went to a bar after our first viewing, and were very amused to see a commercial on TV featuring multiple scenes that didn’t make the cut. It’s pretty hard not to be cynical after that!
More pertinent to this first “Last Jedi” trailer, though, is that the vast majority of the stuff in the initial trailer for “Rogue One” ended up on the cutting room floor. It was actually pretty shocking to go back and watch that trailer again after seeing the movie — I knew some things were missing, but didn’t quite realize that much was gone. Sequences and shots that were at the center of “Rogue One” marketing from that trailer onward — the shot of the titular heist crew running on the beach of Scarib toward Imperial walkers springs immediately to mind — were extremely notable for their absence from the movie itself.
There was, of course, a pretty obvious reason for why that turned out to be the case. It was hardly a secret that “Rogue One” underwent significant rewrites and reshoots (though to what degree is up for debate), some of which was said to have continued afterthat first trailer was revealed last April. The plot of the movie changed enough that a bunch of scenes became obsolete. Including that money shot of our heroes running on the beach. during the big battle. In the finished film, the main heroes, Jyn and Cassian, never even fought on the ground at all during that battle, so it made sense that it no longer fit.
Not that we’re ever going to be happy about that, since, as mentioned above, they continued to use that shot in the marketing until the movie was released.
And so it’s hard to look at this first trailer for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and have any real feelings about it. By the time the movie comes out in December all or significant amounts of this stuff could be rendered obsolete. There’s no reason to assume that this time will be different, and that LucasFilm will base its marketing campaign on things that are actually in the movie. Until the movie comes out we can’t know for sure.
So, for now, you’d be wise to take this first trailer for “The Last Jedi” with a grain of salt.
14 Scenes That Were In the 'Rogue One' Trailers But Aren't in the Movie (Photos)
(Originally published on Dec. 15, 2016)All too often these days, big moments from movie trailers don't make it into the final cut. Given the many rumors that "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" was extensively rewritten and reshot earlier this year, it's not entirely surprising that some pieces from the initial production are missing from the final cut. We've gathered up all the big moments from Disney's marketing that didn't make it into "Rogue One" -- including this shot here from the behind-the-scenes sizzle reel they released at Star Wars Celebration in July.
Lucasfilm/Disney
Let's get the big one out of the way first: this incredible shot of our heroes sprinting across the beach on the planet Scarif with the Death Star plans -- that's what Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is holding in her left hand there -- is nowhere to be found in "Rogue One." Which is interesting because this shot is still being used in TV spots today, even though in the final cut neither Jyn nor Cassian (Diego Luna) fight on the ground at all on Scarif.
Lucasfilm/Disney
This gorgeous wide shot of Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) surveying the aftermath of an Imperial defeat, seen in the first teaser, has been cut from the film. Krennic never makes it onto the ground on Scarif during or after the fighting.
Lucasfilm/Disney
"They destroyed our home," Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), says before firing on the enemy on the rainy planet of Edu in the first full "Rogue One" trailer. Not so in the final cut of "Rogue One," where Malbus wordlessly snipes the baddies after he and Chirrut (Donnie Yen) wander into the battle to find Jyn.
Lucasfilm/Disney
Despite this epic trailer shot, Jyn never has to face a TIE fighter head-on as it dramatically creeps up on her while she stands atop the Imperial base on Scarif. Instead, an Imperial fighter swoops in from the side, firing on her from afar, before Director Krennic enters the picture.
Lucasfilm/Disney
"The Captain says you are a friend. I will not kill you." Though there are many incredible and biting one-liners that will make the former Imperial droid K2-SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) a fan favorite, this one, from the first full trailer, was cut from the film.
Lucasfilm/Disney
Likewise, K2-SO's "There's a 97.6 percent chance of failure" line from later in that same trailer is also MIA.
Lucasfilm/Disney
This shot, shown at Star Wars Celebration, announced Darth Vader's appearance in "Rogue One" -- but it also isn't in the film.
Lucasfilm/Disney
Another epic Jyn moment removed from the film was actually one of the film's more popular promotional shots, featuring her in disguise on the Scarif Imperial base. Despite this being the header image on so many "Rogue One" articles this year, it's nowhere to be found in the finished movie.
Lucasfilm/Disney
"This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel." Jyn's iconic line from the first teaser has made it on to shirts and has even become something of a punk rock motto among "Star Wars" fans. Unfortunately, it didn't find its way into the movie.
Lucasfilm/Disney
In fact, it seems that most of what we saw of Jyn's meeting with Rebel leadership in that first teaser was removed. All of Mon Mothma's lines as she briefs Jyn on her mission are different in the final version of "Rogue One."
Lucasfilm/Disney
This bit, in which Jyn, Cassian and K2-SO are sprinting through the Imperial base on Scarif in their civvies, is notably absent.
Lucasfilm/Disney
Remember Saw Gererra's (Forest Whitaker) big "What will you become?" speech in the first teaser? Didn't make it into the final cut. And, oddly enough, it seems that his scenes were reshot to give him hair that he didn't have in the first trailer either.
Lucasfilm/Disney
"The power that we are dealing with here is immeasurable." This emphatic line that Krennic utters during his meeting with Darth Vader is nowhere to be found in the final cut.
Lucasfilm/Disney
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You may have noticed a lot of stuff missing
(Originally published on Dec. 15, 2016)All too often these days, big moments from movie trailers don't make it into the final cut. Given the many rumors that "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" was extensively rewritten and reshot earlier this year, it's not entirely surprising that some pieces from the initial production are missing from the final cut. We've gathered up all the big moments from Disney's marketing that didn't make it into "Rogue One" -- including this shot here from the behind-the-scenes sizzle reel they released at Star Wars Celebration in July.