My understanding is that Lucas originally did it on purpose because he wanted to make it clear to audiences that the Empire was something of a rich boys club; a bourgeoisie society that officers and the like were often born into. To my eyes, he was kinda trying to make them the 'Skull and Bones society'; the galactic landed aristocracy.

If that's the impression you're trying to impart on American audiences, how do you do it? Duh - British accents.

Evidently that's why Krennic didn't have an accent. The writers wanted to emphasis that he was more of a blue-collar soldier that worked his way up and was bumping against the castes inherent in the system. He either had to knock it out of the park or things were going to go poorly for him. He wasn't a member of the club so he wasn't going to get a second chance.

Mostly he just kinda came off sounding effeminate to me but I can see what they were going for there. They didn't want him to sound too ruggedly blue-collar because then he'd be mid-western relatable in a way the writers weren't looking for. Interesting line to try to walk.

BUTTON! Man, entirely too few people have seen Open Range.
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Here's the major criticism I came away from with this film - please please please remember that this universe isn't really for you. Or at least, not the present you.

Why do we love Star Wars? Because we loved it as a kid. Star Wars has always been about space ships and laser cannons and friggen light sabers; all those things that little kids love. And sure, sometimes they went a little over to top (screw you, podracers, Jar Jar and Ewoks), but the spirit of the movies was generally on point.

This can't be the new normal for these movies. You can't keep making Star Wars movies that resemble Saving Private Ryan just because you and I are now old enough to enjoy them. Perhaps the one-offs are just the right spot for them; a trip back in time for nostalgia's sake that appeals directly to the generation that grew up with those characters.

But when VIII comes out, I guarantee you people are going to get upset if the 'gritty realism' of Rogue One isn't there. For me, that simply misses the point. Make a movie for 9 year olds with a strong enough story to continue to attract the adults. I'd hate to see us run roughshod over the Star Wars universe and snatch it away from our kids. They should get to enjoy it as much as we did.
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thanks!
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:-)

Agreed. I gave this a pass because it's NOT Star Wars, it's a story from it. One that we frankly didn't need to be told, so it's just an imaginary story about what happened before Episode 4. You can literally ignore it (though I wouldn't, cuz I liked it alot) and not miss a beat in the story that is Star Wars. I do hope that Disney will treat VIII like Empire, not over the top brooding and violent and depressing but a little dark and foreboding...setting up Episode 9 for a great finish.

Rouge One was great, I enjoyed it for what it was. A fun stand alone for the fans.
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Woody Harrelson is on tap to play Han Solo's mentor
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It is absolutely Star Wars.

It's not from the Skywalker saga but it's still part of the galaxy and the Journal of the Whills.
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Hell, I hesitate to even call it a stand alone after watching ANH again. Those two movies flow together beautifully.
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Agreed. This is a huge part of the overall saga. Was always a mysterious piece of the episode 4.
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The actor playing Krennic is from New Zealand and his speech patterns aren't a whole lot different from his character on the Netflix show Bloodline. It is a good catch though with only those in "the club" having the British accents (Tarkin in this case).
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See, that's the thing. Most people who know Star Wars know the movies. I know not of this Journal of the Whillis of which you speak, and I daresay I'm not alone. SO...for 90% of Star Wars fans, you don't need this story. It's a fun ride, but not necessary in the Star Wars story that we all know.

I mean, I'm glad that it fits in for you, but for me and most viewers, Star Wars is a story about Luke Skywalker. The rest has never been heard of.
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How do you determine what is "necessary" to a story? As far as I'm concerned, the OT could be R1, ANH, and Empire. Can throw every other Star Wars story away and start over from those three. So for me, this movie is more "necessary" than ROTJ.
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Agree to disagree.

This movie isn't approaching $1 billion at the box office because "no one has heard of it".
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I have watched that movie a dozen times and would never have made the connection if you didn't point it out.
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Disney paid $4 Billion. First two movies have made $3 Billion worldwide.

How much have they made off merchandise and licensing so far?

Seems like Lucas undersold the rights. Did people think that at the time of the sale?
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Disney also sold Star Wars to Netflix in emerging markets right after they purchased it creating hundreds of millions of new fans. They've earned their money. Eliminating George from the creative process also helped.
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