Would you prefer Luke, Leia and Han as main characters or cameos?

no, i'm just okay with a galaxy that's bigger than five characters.
it's actually the opposite of lazy writing to make up a new character that would make sense in context of the project and power structure.

 

i honestly have no idea what you're talking about. Leia being Jyn? "diversifying"?

hot take: Commander Picklehead answers to Tarkin (unseen) and he takes over Krennic's project by force. Picklehead is an ambitious rising star in the Empire and he knows if he steals Krennic's glory, it will seal his position with Tarkin and the Emperor. furthermore, he and Krennic have always been rivals and once he peed in Krennic's cheerios, which Krennic has sworn to avenge. as a bonus, at the end of the movie, Picklehead's plans are all for naught as he receives a comm from Tarkin (still unseen) that the project is being suppressed and Picklehead's being court-martialled/executed for firing on Scariff.

i know ~ i'm making stuff up and some of it is silly. my point is, it doesn't ignore established lore and it potentially raises the stakes.
and it gives us new characters to expand the world while also providing an extra reversal that makes Tarkin's legacy even more cruel.

if we didn't need Leia to be Jyn, then we could have had Picklehead instead of Tarkin.
all it takes it imagination.

again: the exact opposite of laziness.

 

exactly: instead they made a new one: which is what i'm suggesting they should have/could have done with Tarkin.

right: and my point is that you never have to show him. therefore, no squicky cgi dead man resurrection.

my whole argument is that i personally don't like squicky dead man fan service Tarkin resurrection.
you said not using Tarkin would go against canon lore and be "lazy writing";

and yet there's apparently nothing lazy or against canon lore about Jyn.
so i think we're all good here?

 

On its own I would agree that Rogue One didn't need Tarkin, but after reading Catalyst and Tarkin I definitely appreciate him being in it because I think it allowed for further development of his character. If Tarkin isn't in Rogue One, then he probably wouldn't have been in Catalyst and the dynamic between him and Krennic was something I found really interesting. Couple that novel with their dynamic in Rogue One and you get a really engaging look at the political power struggle in the Empire high command. I don't think you get that same feel with just another imperial officer since Tarkin carries so much power behind his character when we meet him in Episode IV.

 

that's fair. and i'm glad it works for people. i still haven't read Catalyst (not sure whether it was written before or after Rogue One, but i'm guessing after?).
at the end of the day i've made my peace with creepy cgi Tarkin. i appreciate they committed to the choice and that Cushing's estate gave their blessing.
but it's not something i want to see in movies. call me old-hat; i'm no fan of this technology used to this extensive degree. i would rather see a recast, frankly.

 

I believe it came out right before Rogue One came out and it leads right up to where Rogue One picks up. It was a really interesting book because it follows the characters from the end of the Clone Wars through the early days of the Empire. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it and it was the first canon novel I ever read. It does get into the nitty gritty when it comes to the science behind the Death Star so I heard that turned some people off of the book, but I found it all very interesting.

 

Give me some Sebastian Stan as Luke and recast Wedge for frigs sake and give us some more magic from the best pilot in the galaxy.

 

OMG, Leia instead of Jyn. That would have been awesome!! (finding an actress play her would have been a great idea, the actress that played Jyn could have passed for Leia). Imagine Leia gathering the team to steal the DS plans, spunky Leia would have been cool. Leia on a mission to recruit an extremist (Saw G.) on Jedha, Leia on a mission to save Galen Erso. Cassian would have been one of the guys before Han like in the Solo movie... Qi'ra b4 Leia... Bail Organa giving Leia the mission to find OB1!!!