Gareth Edwards Says Rogue One Is Actually “One Big Love Letter To Carrie Fisher”

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards still has a few regrets despite the fact that the Star Wars spinoff was a successful film considered by many one of the best in the Star Wars franchise.

Though Rogue One raked in a lot of cash and a lot of positive reviews from fans and critics, Edwards revealed in an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph how hard it was for him to process the death of Star Wars legend, Carrie Fisher. Fisher passed away due to cardiac arrest a few weeks after the premiere of Edwards film and during the interview the director revealed how he hadn't really sat down and watched the film ever since it's opening weekend.

"I've not really sat and watched the film since the opening weekend, when Carrie was still with us. I just feel the whole thing was, to be honest, one big love letter to Carrie. What we're doing with the entire movie is all building to that one moment [of the Death Star plans being handed to Princess Leia] where we hand the baton to her, to go off and make that film that inspired us all as kids. So it couldn't have ended better from that point of view. It's just sad – I was always thinking that I would get to meet her and talk to her at some point about it, and I never really met her properly. I walked past her once on the set of Episode VII, I was meeting some of the crew, and she walked past me, and I had a little fanboy freakout."

"When it came to our film, it went so late with that shot, trying to get it right, that Kathy took it down personally, on a laptop, and showed her. And initially Carrie apparently didn't realise it was CGI, and wondered if it was footage which we had taken from somewhere else. Which was really reassuring for us. I thought, one day, either at the premiere, or one of these conventions, I'd get a chance to talk to her. And it's really sad that it's not going to get to happen."

Edwards reaction isn't entirely surprising. Carrie wasn't just an icon - she was a writer, a human rights activist and a comedian whose influence has made an impact on so many people. Though Edwards did not expect her passing during the release of the film, Rogue One certainly helped celebrate Fisher's legacy with her short cameo in the movie.

Read: Researchers Come Closer To Creating Star Wars' Powerful "Superlaser"