'Rogue One' Concept Art Reveals Alternate Looks For Saw Gerrera, K-2SO, And Orson Krennic
Now that everyone has had a chance to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it's time to check out what didn't actually make it into the movie. Images from the new The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story book have been making their way online and they showcase a very different movie with some very different characters. We've gone ahead and selected some of our favorites, including alternate takes on Saw Gerrera, K-2SO, and Orson Krennic.
Naturally, spoilers freely follow.
These pieces of concept art come from articles published at Business Insider, Entertainment Weekly and io9. If you want to see more, you can follow those links. Or you can head on over to Amazon and pick up a copy of The Art of Rogue One for yourself.
First up is this alternate take on Saw Gerrera, where he looks nothing like the version of the character played by Forest Whitaker in the finished film (or anything like the younger version of the character introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars). Resembling a World of Warcraft orc more than a human, this early design depicts him as hardened, physically intimidating warrior rather than the broken cyborg who made it to the big screen.
Next is this early design for K-2SO, which suggests that his role as a reprogramed Imperial Security Droid was something that evolved over time. The version here, while sharing a similar color scheme, has the body of a protocol droid, making him look like C-3PO's sinister cousin. It's also hard to imagine this version of the character manhandling Stormtroopers like the final version of the character does.
This design for Ben Mendelsohn's Imperial baddie Director Orson Krennic looks mostly like the version that made it to the screen. Except for the black coat over that pristine white uniform. And for the hideous scar on the left side of his face. This design makes me wonder if Lyra Erso's blaster fire originally found a different target on Krennic's face in that opening scene...
This design for Donnie Yen's Chirrut Îmwe actually looks very close to the final version of the character, right down the cloudy eyes. However, his clothing was streamlined at some point in the process, with the final costume going full monk robe and ditching most of the armored embellishments.
At one point, the Stormtroopers on Jedha were going to have their own trusty alien steeds, an image that recalls the Imperial troops riding Dewbacks on Tatooine in the original trilogy.
We may not actually hear his name spoken out loud in Rogue One, but this Rebel soldier is named Pao, he's a Drabata from the planet Pipada, and he's a total badass. This wide-mouthed alien is among the Rebel soldiers who fight and die at the Battle of Scarif and you just know he's destined to get an origin novel at some point.
And if you thought Saw Gerrera's Rebel hideout was creepy and unpleasant in the final film, know that there was a version where the helmets of dead Stormtroopers were piled up against a war-torn wall like skulls.
This design for the "Shoretroopers," the specialized Stormtroopers intended for combat near the coast, looks an awful lot like the final version. The biggest change is the helmet, which looks more like the Scout Trooper helmet in the final design.
I don't know about you people, but I've been waiting my entire life to see a Star Wars space battle that looks like this concept art. And man-oh-man, did they pull this one off.
And finally, here's an eerie look at one of Rogue One's most unsettling moments: Darth Vader, out of his life-saving armor and in his healing Bacta tank. Remembering that the man underneath that iconic armor is a physical wreck who spends his days battling constant pain goes a long way to making him terrifying once again.