Rogue One Inspired by a Harrison Ford Box Office Flop

Guy Hamilton’s “Force 10 From Navarone” serves as a late-stage sequel to J. Lee Thompson’s 1961 war film “The Guns of Navarone.” The original “Guns” is a memorable, albeit somewhat clunky, men-on-a-mission movie centered around a group of scrappy Allied soldiers on a covert mission to destroy two massive Axis cannons located on the fictional island of Navarone. The film featured Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn in its lead roles.

In “Force 10 From Navarone,” the roles of Peck and Niven were taken over by Robert Shaw and Edward Fox. The sequel addressed some loose ends from “Guns,” particularly focusing on the betrayal of the soldiers by a secret Nazi agent. The mission in the sequel revolves around tracking down this agent and eliminating him. Alongside Shaw and Fox, Harrison Ford, fresh off the success of “Star Wars,” joined the cast. For Ford, “Force 10” might have felt like a step down, considering the monumental fame he achieved with “Star Wars.”

Unfortunately, “Force 10” did not capture the audience’s interest like its predecessor did. The film managed to earn only $3.2 million against its hefty $10.5 million budget. Today, it remains mostly a forgotten piece of cinema, with only deep-cut film enthusiasts likely to bring it up in conversation.

However, one notable figure who remembers and drew inspiration from “Force 10” is designer Christian Alzmann. Known for his work on “Rogue One,” “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” and “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” Alzmann cited “Force 10” as a significant inspiration in the “Art of Rogue One” book. He remarked:

“If we go all the way back, it was very much like ‘Force 10 from Navarone’ – a ragtag commando team, which would allow us to play with a bunch of different character types and scales.”

A side-by-side comparison of the films’ respective casts indeed reveals the influence of “Force 10” on Alzmann’s creative vision.

Source: [Source names]