Via Digitaltrends.com:

While fans were reticent at first about a new series of films set inside the Star Wars universe — but outside the main episodes — Rogue One: A Star Wars Story quickly proved that George Lucas’ epic space opera was much bigger than the story that played out across the first seven films (and counting).

Set between the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and the franchise-spawning Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Rogue One followed a ragtag group of rebels tasked with stealing the plans to the Death Star. Along with telling the story of the dangerous mission, director Gareth Edwards and Rogue One’s creative team also faced the daunting task of inserting the tale into the Star Wars timeline in a believable way — not only would the story itself have to align with the saga’s timeline, but the sets, costumes, and even the technology would need to seamlessly blend with the 1977 film that started it all.

Taking a lead role on the technology side of things was Doug Chiang, a Lucasfilm vice president and executive creative director, who served as the co-production designer on Rogue One. Chiang previously led Lucasfilm’s art department during the production and release of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and served as a concept and co-production designer for 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.

Digital Trends spoke to Chiang about the process of integrating Rogue One into the Star Wars universe and making a standalone story feel like an important thread in the Star Wars tapestry.

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