It’s a question that many have considered since first seeing and hearing Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic – why does he not have that traditional English officer accent so often attributed to officers of the Empire. Talking with USA Today, Gareth Edwards offers some background to the decision to make the character distinct.
“It feels like if the Empire ever have a job vacancy, they go to the Royal Shakespeare Company to headhunt people,” Edwards says. “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.”
That said, the director adds, 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.”
Edwards also spoke about the chance to work with a cinematic icon, in the character Darth Vader.
While filming one of Krennic’s first scenes interacting with the Sith lord, in the middle of a take Mendelsohn called Edwards over, and the director was nervous something was wrong.
“He went, ‘It’s Darth Vader. We filmed with Darth Vader,’ ” Edward says. “And I was like,‘I know. It’s amazing, isn’t it?’ It was like no one wanted to admit that they’re having a little fanboy freak-out but everyone did. It’s impossible not to. He’s so iconic.”
For the full interview take the link below.
