The wait is over. The world premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opened on Saturday night (10th December), and the initial buzz is overwhelmingly positive. While reviews for the film – which tells the story of a band of rebels tasked with stealing the plans to the Death Star prior to Episode IV: A New Hope, and sees the return of series villain Darth Vader – are yet to be released, attendees of the premiere have been raving about Rogue One, with many comparing it favourably to the original trilogy, and some calling it superior to last year’s Star Wars sequel, JJ Abrams’ The Force Awakens.
The positive reaction to Rogue One is a relief, considering rumours abound over the last few months that production on the film was troubled and that Disney – which now owns the Star Wars franchise – ordered reshoots after adjudging the first cut of the film as too dark.
Here’s some (spoiler-free) Twitter reactions from the premiere’s attendees:
https://twitter.com/wilw/status/807827014887452676
Holy crap did I love Rogue One. It’s gonna take days to wipe the smile off my face. So many surprises and so much fun. Get excited.
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) December 11, 2016
Star Wars fans will be very happy with #RogueOne. It's fun, action packed, doesn't feel neutered by reshoots. Donnie Yen and K2so standouts.
— /Film (@slashfilm) December 11, 2016
Holy Sith! @RogueOneMovie is unbelievably wonderful! No lie: it is #EmpireStrikesBack great! An excellent chapter in the @starwars Universe! pic.twitter.com/Lb0vQ06ifh
— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/THRMattBelloni/status/807814114437308418
https://twitter.com/ScottFeinberg/status/807815295305846784
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, directed by Gareth Edwards, written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, and starring Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk, and Forest Whitaker, is set for general cinema release on 14th December in Europe and 16th December in the US.
