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See why Rogue One's final scene is the perfect prologue to A New Hope

See why Rogue One's final scene is the perfect prologue to A New Hope

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Separated by 40 years and one hyperspace jump

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set to come out digitally at the end of the week and on Blu-ray and other home releases next week, which means fans will be able to play the film back to back with A New Hope. A new fan cut shows just how well Gareth Edwards’ prequel flows into George Lucas’ original.

Spoilers ahead for Rogue One.

The video begins at Rogue One’s final scene — the brutal tag with Darth Vader — and transitions into the opening of A New Hope as the Tantive IV is followed to Tatooine and ultimately boarded. You know the rest.

What stands out for me is how well the two films sync visually. While there are minor differences in costumes between the two films (not to mention the CGI version of Leia and Tarkin), Gareth Edwards’ film really nails the design language established in A New Hope. The corridors of the Tantive IV are the same, stark white; the costumes worn by the Rebel troopers are perfect replicas; and the digital displays on the ships remain wonderfully retro.

Massive design changes in a popular franchise can be off-putting. The sleek, modern designs of the equipment in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus doesn’t mesh well with the well-worn Nostromo in Alien, and the elegant lines of the Star Wars prequels feel out of step with the original trilogy.

The scene also lends A New Hope with a bit more added urgency, now that we know about that desperate scramble away from Scarif. The troopers at the door of the hallway know that they’re about to die repelling the Imperial boarders, and the Rebel Alliance has a fragility that wasn’t as clear in the past.

With the film coming out on Blu-ray soon, expect to see more extensive fan edits in the coming months.


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