Rogue One has seen lots of praise since its release. It has even broken December releases right behind another familiar film. Finally, Lucasfilm talks about one of the most hotly debated topics from the film, two weeks after its release.

Spoiler warning! The rest of this article will contain spoilers for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

In an interview with The New York Times, many contributors on Rogue One give their opinions on the film's decision to use digital effects to bring back prominent characters. Grand Moff Tarkin's original actor, the late Peter Cushing, was recreated digitally for the film. Princess Leia was also brought back to a young age with a Carrie Fisher look-alike and significant CGI, which made both actors look nearly identical to their appearance in A New Hope. 

These characters were brought back into the fold, but realistically, more traditional movie magic could have been applied to achieve similar results. It's no argument that both characters played important roles in this film, with Tarkin being the one who takes over the Death Star and Leia taking the plans at the end. But why didn't they stick a distorted image of Tarkin behind a hologram using a look-alike? Holograms aren't 1080p, no one would have noticed. The reason is to put the cherry on top of the Star Wars cake.

The team had a way to make it happen. His role was pivotal for those who had seen A New Hope. Kiri Hart, producer and head of Lucasfilm's Story Group said, "If he’s not in the movie, we’re going to have to explain why he’s not in the movie. This is kind of his thing." Seeing a walking, breathing Peter Cushing was shocking and nostalgic for many fans of the series. Personally, the five seconds of face time we got with a young Princess Leia had me gasping audibly in the theater. There are many great films out there, but the CGI magic used in Rogue One will keep it ingrained in people's heads as more than "just a spin-off".

The filmmakers were initially unsure how the CG effects of Tarkin were going to look. The lighting from the older films was different from Rogue One and because of that, the work done was tedious, difficult and time-consuming. As John Knoll, Producer and CCO of Industrial Light and Magic explained, it's "a super high-tech and labor-intensive version of doing make-up,” Knoll said."

Lastly, Hart had explained the reason for Princess Leia's CGI trip to the rejuvenation bath. Throughout Rogue One, Hope was what kept the protagonists going. Hope was the key, and not-so-subtle nod to the first film's title A New Hope. To the characters, the plans they stole were the symbol of hope. But their aim with a young looking Princess Leia was hope for the viewers. Fans of the series know what happens after she gets the plans. It's the beginning of the end for the Empire and the beginning of Hope. A New Hope. Seeing Princess Leia's rejuvenated face and hearing her say "hope" was meant to nail down the reference. In Hart's own words:

“To deliver on that moment of hopefulness, that is really underscored by the fact that you do get to see her face,” Hart said. “That’s the best possible use of effects, to enhance the meaning and the emotion of the experience for the viewer.” 

Using the likeness of an actor, passed or aged, brings up a question of ethics, but Knoll believes it is a technology that should be used sparingly, not only because it's time consuming and expensive, but because it could cause real problems with who-gets-paid-what. He states, “We’re not planning on doing this digital re-creation extensively from now on. It just made sense for this particular movie.”