Despite renewed interest in 2016's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," its director, Gareth Edwards, says he's content with moving on from a galaxy far, far away.
"I'm very happy to move on and do my thing," Edwards, the director of the anticipated summer blockbuster "Jurassic World: Rebirth," told Business Insider when asked whether he'd ever make another "Star Wars" movie.
"Rogue One," which marked the first spin-off ever created from the "Star Wars" franchise, has grown in appreciation as other "Star Wars" releases since, such as "Solo" and "The Rise of Skywalker," have been disasters. Interest has also peaked thanks to the hit "Star Wars" series "Andor," which concluded recently on Disney+.
Not only that, "Rogue One" was riddled with reports of behind-the-scenes drama. There were massive reshoots, and Tony Gilroy, who would go on to create "Andor," was hired to oversee them. (Edwards has always said that he worked alongside Gilroy during the reshoots and was never sidelined.)
"It's the thing that was in my life before I knew what a film was," Edwards told BI when talking about what "Star Wars" means to him while doing press for "Rebirth" (out in theaters July 2).
"It's like your mom; it's like something that's a part of you. I'm always fascinated by what they're doing. I never stop loving that trilogy."
Edwards downplayed the claim spread wide through the internet that "Rogue One" is the best "Star Wars" movie that's come out since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012.
"I don't agree with it, but I appreciate it," he said. "I'm very grateful that people say nice things."
With "Rogue One" celebrating its 10th anniversary next year, Edwards said the best way to think about the movie was in terms of staying power.
"What you have to keep in your pocket as you go through making other films is that it's not about how people feel the day it gets released, it's how people feel about it 10, 20 years from now," he said.
"When you make a movie, you're living at least a year from now, you're trying to imagine what it's like, all these decisions you're making, what they are going to be like a year from now when this movie is released, what's the audience going to think?" he continued.
"And as the movie comes out, you go, 'I'm going to pretend I'm living 10 years from now, and it doesn't matter what people say in the moment.'
"It's the kid who comes up to you 20 years from now and goes, 'Oh my god, I loved that movie!' I think that's the reward."
Disney's next planned "Star Wars" release is "The Mandalorian and Grogu" on May 22, 2026.
