After leaving many fans disappointed with the new movie Star Wars: the Force Awakens, Disney is in a bit of hot water in regards to Star Wars. Their newest installment, “Rogue One” plans to get them out of that; however, with news surfacing about production, one can’t help but wonder if they are leaving the hot water and jumping right into the fire.

Before filming really got underway, Rogue One director Gareth Edwards said that he wanted to tell a more gritty Star Wars story, one more akin to a war movie rather than a space opera. Many fans had no issue with the change in direction, but a good amount of them did. Some equated the darker tones to the infamous prequels, perhaps the most disappointing movies to ever be made. The story Edwards wants to write is more complicated and not as straightforward as the original trilogy. George Lucas, filmmaker and creator of the Star Wars franchise, tried to do something similar with The Phantom Menace , but to no avail. Many people blame the prequels for over complicating the Star Wars franchise with politics and strategy. However, this new upcoming Star Wars movie seems to be moving toward a similar direction as the prequels in terms of tone. Rogue One openly advertises its darker take on the universe, a fact that many find disquieting.

The original films tried to be simplistic and enjoyable tales, not making the audience think too hard about the plot and character motivations. Simply put, good guys are good and bad guys are bad. This is because there were already many movies being released that had more complex stories and themes. The original trilogy was meant to offer respite from those types of films. However, over the years, the feelings of audiences have changed and the more complicated movies became popular again. The genre of the space opera evolved to take a darker, dystopian side with oppressive governments, political intrigue, and blurred lines between friend and foe. It was in this climate that George Lucas made the prequels, hence the reason they are much more complex than the original trilogy. Currently, we are still in that era of complex science fiction. With films like Interstellar and Arrival being released, it is no secret why Edwards chose to make a deeper movie.

Some think that a darker vibe is just what the new Star Wars movies need to differ them from their predecessors and excitedly hope for the grim story Edwards envisioned. While this could very well give the movie a standout quality and does not bar it from being anything but fantastic, Disney has already ensured that every one of their fans will be disappointed.

After filming had been underway for a few months, orders came down to reshoot some of the scenes; the apparent reason being that they were too gritty. While some rejoiced at Disney’s desire to keep Star Wars light hearted, others started getting a little nervous about the kind of movie they would be getting. After all, a big criticism of The Force Awakens was that it played it too safe by showing things that the audience was all familiar with and saturating the plot with fan service. With that currently being the only Disney Star Wars movie, the reason for skeptics’ worry should come as no surprise. They are nervous that the film be playing it too safe again.

However, the problem with playing it safe is that fans want different stories and ideas. It is for that reason that many felt disappointed with The Force Awakens, thinking it was barely creative outside of the special effects. When Rogue One was announced as being a darker, more complex story set in the Star Wars universe, a good deal of fans rejoiced awaiting the much need creativity lacking in the latest installment of the series. At the same time, there were also many who felt that a darker vibe would destroy the feel of Star Wars. Either way, Disney cannot please both parties. They already upset one camp by making the movie have a bit more girt, now alienating the opposite side with the reshoot of scenes. Sorry to say, but Disney is caught between a rock and hard place. If they go ahead with the darker tone, loyal fans will say the film doesn’t feel like Star Wars, but if they make it too light hearted people will accuse them of playing it too safe again.

However, this may all just be theories. Whatever the outcome is, reshoots and all, we will know how good the movie is when it comes out this Friday.