Gareth Edwards on Rogue One: I got stuck in the hamster wheel that is Hollywood

The sci-fi director talked about his stint away from making films.
Text: Petter Hegevall
Published 2023-09-04

Since directing the single best Star Wars film released by Disney (Rogue One), Godzilla-Gareth has been quiet as a mouse, until he appeared with the trailer for the upcoming sci-fi dystopia The Creator, which deals with AI as a subject and potential threat. During the press tour for that film, Gareth has now spoken openly for the first time about why he chose to take a years-long break from filmmaking after his experiences with Disney and Star Wars.

"I needed to get off the merry-go-round, do you know what I mean? In Hollywood, you can get stuck on the hamster wheel, or whatever analogy you want to use. I just wanted to get off and have a break to take some time thinking about the next thing.

"I got to make a very low-budget science fiction film with Monsters, and I realized there were some serious advantages to having no money. It was kind of a shock to have all the money you could ever want, and still be limited. I felt like if I could somehow get that big bag of cash and send it back in time to me when I was making Monsters, the possibilities would have been infinite. And so, in a weird way, I was trying to find that kind of scenario again. I was as much interested in the process of how to make the film as I was the idea."

How excited are you about the upcoming The Creator?

Thanks, GamesRadar.

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