20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: Rogue One
1. George Lucas Reportedly Preferred It To The Force Awakens
When George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, he relinquished his rights to have any creative say over the future direction of Star Wars, though he was periodically consulted during development of the sequel trilogy.
In 2019, Disney CEO Bob Iger's memoir revealed that George Lucas wasn't exactly thrilled about the direction of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, feeling as many fans did that it lacked originality.
Yet according to Gareth Edwards, Lucas was extremely happy with how Rogue One turned out, and given Lucas' lukewarm verdict on The Force Awakens, it's clear which of the two he prefers.
Considering that Rogue One wasn't merely a retelling of what came before and actually tried to do something different with the IP, it's not terribly surprising that he favoured it over effectively a veiled remake of A New Hope.