'Rogue Squadron' Movie Makes Major Crew Addition

As the Star Wars train rolls on with weekly new episodes of The Bad Batch and the release of The Book of Boba Fett at the year's end, news concerning Star Wars content on the big screen remains slim and slow to arrive. With the release date of these scheduled movies multiple years away, it's only natural that the Disney+ shows have taken center stage in the eyes and hearts of fans.

However, with talented directors like Rian Johnson, Taika Waititi, and Patty Jenkins all on the payroll, it is inevitable that fans will soon travel via cinema to a galaxy far, far, away. While Johnson's trilogy is still shrouded in secrecy, Kevin Feige's project has no official release date and few concrete details, and Taika Waititi has made it clear that he will ruin Star Wars, Jenkins' upcoming starfighter-focused Rogue Squadron has taken center stage for cinema-centric Star Wars fans. This is helped along by the occasional news, rumors, nuggets of speculation, or, in this case, reported additions to the cast and crew. A recent report claims that Patty Jenkins has added a name that fans of the DC universe and the Wonder Woman films will recognize to her Star Wars crew.

The daughter of a decorated Air Force captain and fighter pilot, Patty Jenkins has spoken openly about the influences the military and pilots have had on her life. The recipient of a Silver Star for heroic actions in Vietnam, William T. Jenkins and his wife Emily Roth raised their family in true military fashion, across multiple states, bases, and countries, including Thailand and Germany. Jenkins has recounted how watching her father lead his squadron of F4s was "the most thrilling experience of (her) life" and how his death during a NATO training exercise led her to want to make the "greatest fighter pilot movie of all time."

One of the nearest Star Wars movies on the horizon, Rogue Squadron has received its fair share of speculation and spotlight recently. Sharing its name with the first novel in the X-Wing book series by Michael Stackpole, the Rogue Squadron movie will feature a new roster of starfighter pilots hopping into the cockpit. While the script will be "completely original," the Expanded Universe stories surrounding this fighter group have laid a solid groundwork from which to draw. First referenced in The Empire Strikes Back as "Rogue Group" by Commander Skywalker, these pilots defended Echo Base and the fleeing Rebel forces from the advancing Imperial Army. Rogue Squadron would go on to form the spearhead of the Rebel attack on the second Death Star.

In his series of novels, Stackpole wrote about the end of the Galactic Civil War and the challenges and enemies facing the burgeoning New Republic. As the New Republic attempts to drive the Imperial Remnant from the galaxy, talented young pilots are needed to take up the mantle of Luke Skywalker's legendary elite squadron. This premise would be an excellent foundation for Patty Jenkins to build her own unique vision for the squadron and their story.

While the exact timeline of the film is not yet known, fan speculation has widely set the film in the post-sequel trilogy era. Could Jenkins be setting up a story similar to Stackpole's, just one generation further down the line? In the novels, decorated Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles seeks to rebuild one of the Alliance's greatest weapons against the Empire. Could Poe Dameron do the same against the remnants of the First Order? With Dennis Lawson cameoing as the combat veteran in The Rise of Skywalker, could the stage be set for a return from this fearless rebel pilot? A film featuring Poe teaching a rejuvenated Rogue Squadron with Lawson filling the "back in my day" grizzled war veteran role certainly has potential, in this writer's opinion.

While speculation concerning the plot, characters, and script will undoubtedly circulate for the foreseeable future, the fan community does have a new addition to the crew to consider. While the story treatment and script writers still remain under wraps, pending their own unique announcements, Jenkins has added a former coworker to the mix at Lucasfilm. After their shared work on both Wonder Woman films, it should come as little surprise that Production Designer Aline Bonetto was the first official crew member brought into the fold by Jenkins. Given Bonetto's work in the fantasy/super hero genre of film making, it seems only natural that she tries her hand in the science fiction arena. Bonetto has proven her ability to craft intricately detailed worlds of fantasy with the divine design of Themyscira, the island home of Diana, created by the gods themselves. Certainly many new and unique worlds are on the horizon for Star Wars fans with Bonetto at the helm.

Written By Weston Erickson

Source(s): The Direct, The Ronin

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