Gareth Edwards Talks About Krennic's Role in the Empire in 'Rogue One'

By: Dominic Jones

We're now less than two months away from the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the marketing is now focusing in more on the nuance of the characters.  Director Gareth Edwards spoke with USA Today recently about the character of Director Orson Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn, offering insight into the character's backstory and how he differs from other Imperial officers before.

One of the subtler differences between Krennic and previous Imperials is his accent.  Where characters like Tarkin had more of a posh accent, Krennic has more of a working class accent.  This came out of a discussion Edwards had with Mendelsohn, when the actor asked if he should have a posh accent.  Edwards explained that he felt Krennic, as head of the advanced weapons research wing of the Imperial military should be more of an outsider. 

Edwards told USA Today, “It feels like if the Empire ever have a job vacancy, they go to the Royal Shakespeare Company to headhunt people.  I like the idea that Ben’s character was much more working-class” and rose in the ranks “through sheer force of personality and ideas.”

Edwards also offered a bit of a teaser into what workplace politics we might see within the Empire in Rogue One, saying that Krennic “hits a brick wall in the hierarchy where they won’t let him in the club and it’s going to turn into a them-or-us situation: either Krennic or Tarkin and the others.”

This is some really fascinating insight from Edwards.  A question fans have asked ever since Krennic was revealed is what is his relationship with Grand Moff Tarkin, who is in charge of the Death Star in A New Hope.  Although it's not been confirmed, many fans believe they've spotted Tarkin in both the Star Wars Celebration behind the scenes sizzle reel and the most recent trailer (and it has long been rumored he'd make an appearance), it would be fascinating to see a scene between the two high ranking Imperials.

Source: USA Today

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