Gareth Edwards on Director Krennic’s Accent in Rogue One and His Interaction With Darth Vader!
USA Today recently spoke with Rogue One director Gareth Edwards about the iconic (and soon to be iconic) villains in his upcoming A New Hope prequel that hits theaters this December. He talked briefly about what type of villain viewers can expect Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic to be in the film as well as what it was like filming with Darth Vader on set.
According to Edwards, Krennic will be very different from other Imperial officers that we have seen before on screen. He is in a different class and has his own unique personality that should set him apart from the others. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the officers around him and how he interacts with his superiors. We know we will see him interacting with Vader on screen, and from the one line of dialogue we’ve heard so far, he appears to be a very passionate individual.
Here’s what Edwards had to say about Krennic (from USA Today):
Because top men in the Empire such as Grand Moff Tarkin — played in the original Star Wars by Peter Cushing — are upper-class types, Edwards recalls Mendelsohn asking if he should adopt “a very posh English accent.” But the director preferred Krennic, the man in charge of the advanced weapons research wing of the Imperial military, not be a part of that boys club.
“It feels like if the Empire ever have a job vacancy, they go to the Royal Shakespeare Company to headhunt people,” Edwards says. “I like the idea that Ben’s character was much more working-class” and rose in the ranks “through sheer force of personality and ideas.”
That said, the director adds, Krennic “hits a brick wall in the hierarchy where they won’t let him in the club and it’s going to turn into a them-or-us situation: either Krennic or Tarkin and the others.”
It’s no secret now that Vader will be an important part of Rogue One. However, as many have already suspected, he will be used sparingly, yet hopefully to great effect in the movie.
Here’s what Edwards had to say about Vader’s presence in the movie and what it was like filming with the iconic villain:
Working with Vader, though, was on another level for Edwards. Voiced again by James Earl Jones and featuring various actors inhabiting the old battle armor and helmet, Vader is used sparingly in Rogue One yet whenever he power-walked into a scene, everybody around morphed into a 4-year-old, according to the director.
“It’s like we’re at the playground again and there’s this hero sort of standing there,” Edwards says. “You end up very respectful of him: Even though you know there’s a guy inside the outfit, you still talk to him like he’s Vader.”
While filming one of Krennic’s first scenes interacting with the Sith lord, in the middle of a take Mendelsohn called Edwards over, and the director was nervous something was wrong.
“He went, ‘It’s Darth Vader. We filmed with Darth Vader,’ ” Edward says. “And I was like,‘I know. It’s amazing, isn’t it?’ It was like no one wanted to admit that they’re having a little fanboy freak-out but everyone did. It’s impossible not to. He’s so iconic.”
We’re just 51 days away from the premiere…
Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.
Cannot wait.
I just hope that sparingly does not mean the last 30 seconds of the movie… oh, and that they use the Imperial March.
nah. I’m pretty sure the scene we saw with vader is in the middle of the movie… I’d say it will be used as much as Maul in TPM. Only with more dialogues and less use of lightsabers.
I wonder if they will. They used it through out the prequel trilogy starting with the end of Attack of the Clones but..
This movie is so close to A New Hope, I wonder if the composer won’t keep the music closer to what we experienced there.
if they really wanted to differentiate krennic from the imperial hierarchy they could could have let mendelsohn use his natural aussie accent.
He’s such a great actor.
He does accents quite well too.
oh absolutely he can. just wanted the aussie accent for variety… and representation. 😉
Agreed – would be nice to have more variety. We’re getting that with Rogue One which is cool.
The way he delivers that one line in the final trailer: “The power that we are dealing with here is immeasurable.” Wow. It elevated my curiosity about his character and performance in this movie.
I just want to see Vader appear on a Battlefield and see the Rebels reactions as Vader starts whacking everyone with his lightsaber. We’ve never seen Vader in combat unless he was fighting Jedi.
me too, but I have my doubts
Just as long as someone rolls the R in Rebels. That’s all I want out of a Star Wars picture.
I think I know where you’re going with this. I sure do hope Tarkin is in it as well.
Tarkin would either have to be CGI or deleted footage, so if he is in it it’s probably for two seconds. I’d rather them not trot out the guy from Episode III again, who just looked like a guy in a Halloween mask.
they better give vader a bad ass battle scene against the rebels. after reading this im kind of worried they won’t, which would be a complete disappointment, given how intense such a scene could be and since this could definitely be the last opportunity to use him in such a way in a live action film
This!
I really hope he’ll have a larger role than just a cameo. They have absolutely no reason not to use Vader. This is the perfect opportunity to show Vader in action.
Absolutely. This is THE VADER we have been waiting our lifetimes for — in his Rebel-Scum-killing-glory. If Vader is a mere cameo with 2 lines – people worldwide WILL be disappointed.
Speak for yourself.
A cameo would be poor, but then overkill will ruin the character. Something in the middle ground, 4-5 scenes, 2 with action, and I’m happy.
You’re not going to be happy then.
I think he’ll be far more than a cameo, all the reports point to this. Plus R1 will be VERY one-sided if its only really Kenrric and various different Stormtroopers on the Imperial side. You’ll find it will be more than you expect.
No. YOU will be disappointed given that you have foolishly decided that Rogue One is somehow a Darth Vader movie.
He’s going to kill most of the main cast. It will be at the end after he finds out the plans for the death star were stolen. Think ANH.. he was SUPER pissed off during the opening scene on Leia’s ship. Almost like he just killed an entire squadron of rebels but still doesn’t have the plans to the death star.
Temper your expectations, lest you be upset when the exact thing you want doesn’t happen.
He’s got to at least force-choke one Imperial or Rebel, and have one scene of devastating lightsaber action on a group of Rebels while others escape. Then a few menacing lines of dialogue in a few other choice scenes. The will do me.
I’m willing to bet he doesn’t fight with his saber in this.
Yep – I agree there is a good chance he will not.
They have a very good reason not to use him a lot. This is a story about Jyn and her friends, not Anakin Skywalker.
Here’s a quote from Kathleen Kennedy from a while back:
“I think we can talk about Vader…” said Kennedy, who confirmed that the
Dark Lord of the Sith will once again be voiced by James Earl Jones. “He
will be in the movie sparingly. But at a key, strategic moment, he’s
going to loom large.
Sparingly is a mistake. Vader is like BUTTER — more is always BETTER.
Like bacon…
That’s why he is in ANH for 12 min and is awesome. Less is more.
Until you realize that you had so much that you’re going to have a hard attack and fucking die. Maybe you should eat some vegetables, and eat that butter sparingly instead. Do you know what i mean?
i prefer a spray on vader to a vader spread.
I can’t believe it’s not Vader…it is
And the more butter you have the more it ruins your health….leading to eventual upset.
That strategic moment being…. when he single-handedly kills the entire main cast? 🙂
So in my mind, I’m imagining Krennic as a mix of Hagrid, Bricktop from ‘Snatch’, or the famous DARTH FARMER… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSm9DDxQv8E
I would kneel before the dark lord of the Sith.
At first I didn’t care for this idea, but having thought about it I really like it.
I’m a working class Brit who has become a lawyer of some distinction. But the true higher echelons are still very hard to attain for someone like me because I never went to a public (read private) school or attended an Oxbridge university. I have many friends like that but I will never truly be classed as one of them…despite the fact that in appearance and (purposely adopted) accent you would not tell the difference…so I really like that they have brought this quality to Krennic as I can associate with it and it humanises him for me. I can understand how such a character would feel, being a grunt made good myself.
The posh accent = upper/elite social class among humans in the SW universe has always fascinated me. It’s a great example of world-building that evolved over the span of the movies and various EU media. For example, it can now explain Leia’s change in accent in ANH. The reality is that Carrie Fisher just couldn’t do an English accent well. But now we can explain this away as Leia attempting the posh (Coruscanti) accent when speaking to Vader and Tarkin, in order to be regarded by them as their social class equal. When she’s with Luke, Han and back with the Rebellion, she reverts back to her original accent, which to us sounds American. But Leia just can’t pull off the posh accent, which is why her accent is inconsistent when speaking with Tarkin. When Alderaan is about to get blown up, she loses her accent.
Based on the final trailer, Young Jyn’s accent sounds notably strong. This further suggests (along with her having a Stormtrooper doll) that as a child Jyn greatly admired the Empire.
One thing I notice in the final trailer is that no human sounds American. K-2SO sounds like he speaks with an accent that sounds closest to American.