The 'Rogue One' Villain Is Actually Relatable

Did you know that Mean Girls and Star Wars are in the same universe? OK, OK, they're not, but that doesn't mean that people aren't "mean girls" in the high school universe and, apparently, in a galaxy far, far, away. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, new details about the Rogue One villain were shared by director Gareth Edwards. Specifically, Edwards talked about the, well, cattiness in the Stars Wars universe, the hierarchy in the intergalactic ruling body, and how Orson Krennic doesn't quite fit in with that hierarchy. But don't feel bad for the lower class Director of Advanced Weapons Research. Grand Moff Tarkin had to have gotten the Death Star that would take down Alderaan from somewhere, and the Director of Advanced Weapons Research seems like the guy who knows how to get that sort of device. His hands are most definitely not clean, is all I'm saying.

From what Edwards revealed, we know that at the beginning of Rogue One, 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." So, these snooty Imperial officers are basically saying "you can't sit with us." Sorry, Krennic, life's tough. Maybe you should get a Darth Vader-style helmet.

He told The Hollywood Reporter that he made the choice that Ben Mendelsohn shouldn't play the role with the standard upper class accent of Imperial officers when the actor asked if he should rock "a very posh English accent." He felt that the divide between Krennic and his upper class associates-in-fascism would be more interesting if it was more obvious, saying, "I like the idea that Ben’s character was much more working-class [and came to prominence] through sheer force of personality and ideas." Personally, I can't ignore the comparison to Cady Heron in Mean Girls: just a misfit girl who makes it to the popular girl big leagues, but comes to blows with serious power struggles.

It's going to be refreshing to have an evil villain who doesn't sound like he could also double as a nanny riding an umbrella or Hugh Grant in a romantic comedy. As Edward put it, "it feels like if the Empire ever have a job vacancy, they go to the Royal Shakespeare Company to headhunt people." I'm excited to see Mendelsohn pull off a sociopathic murdering Cady Heron-type. Is it December 16 yet?

Images: Lucasfilm Ltd./Walt Disney Pictures