Why 'Star Wars' Ace Pilot Wedge Antilles Isn't in 'Rogue One'
Part of the fun of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is spotting the “legacy characters” from the original Star Wars trilogy, brought back to life through a combination of archival footage, digital ingenuity, and living actors. Among the familiar faces are two of the Rebel pilots who sacrifice their lives in A New Hope‘s final assault on the Death Star, Red Leader and Gold Leader. Both take part in Rogue One‘s Battle of Scarif — and yet a much more recognizable pilot from the original trilogy, Wedge Antilles, is nowhere to be seen. In a Twitter conversation (reported by Slashfilm), Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo explained Wedge’s absence from the fight — and revealed that he does, in fact, have a secret Rogue One cameo.
When asked by an inquisitive fan why Wedge didn’t fly at Scarif, Hidalgo explained, “Wedge wouldn’t be there. … Because he’s never seen the Death Star before A New Hope.” And we know this because of the character’s stunned reaction at seeing the Death Star in person in the 1977 original: “Look at the size of that thing!” (Go here for the clip.)
Hidalgo also said that “the amount of footage was a factor”; while the other pilots were re-created using outtakes from A New Hope, there was less to work with when it came to Wedge.
Related: ‘Rogue One’: The Digital Grand Moff Tarkin Is Terrifying for All the Wrong Reasons (Spoilers)
@DG_Footy @JarackLawrence “Look at the size of that thing!” is the line we were trying to preserve.
— Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) January 15, 2017
Although we don’t see Wedge in Rogue One, Hidalgo did reveal that we hear him. Actor David Ankrum, who dubbed the voice of Wedge in A New Hope, recorded a line that explains the character’s location. (Denis Lawson played Wedge in the original trilogy.) “Wedge (voice of @DavidAkrum1) is on Yavin 4, announcing to flight personnel to report in and redirect to Scarif, MTFBWY,” Hidalgo said. “He stays on Yavin.”
MTFBWY, of course, stands for “May the Force Be With You” — and since Wedge survived both Death Star battles in the original trilogy, the Force must have been on his side.
Related: ‘Rogue One’ Sound Editors Reveal How They Found Princess Leia’s ‘Hope’ and More Production Secrets
Watch a video on how they came up with the names for Rogue One:
