Thank you, gentlemen, this is Rumor Control. Here at the fact.

Hey there.

I'm Bobby Roberts.

I used to do a Star Wars show called Full of Sith.

And welcome to Rumor Control, a show that used to be all about spoilers, behind

the scenes brouhaha, and all manner of sewing circle gossip mongering here in the verdant

rainforest of discontent that is Star Wars fandom, a home for no-it-alls, no-nothings, the

daywalkers who move between both worlds, and people with

generally no self-control whatsoever. However, this is a pretty special edition of rumor control

and not only because I'm actually doing one, but because there aren't really any actual

spoilers in it. Instead, this is maybe the one episode of rumor control that is absolutely about controlling

a rumor, a single rumor, a rumor about a Star Wars story that has itself become a Star Wars

story.

So, for the benefit of you listeners who have been hearing things about Rogue One, have been seeing things on your Facebooks and your Twitters, what we're going to do is walk through the life cycle of a rumor from its dramatic, squalling birth, to its awkward, ungainly adolescence, to the part in which actual grown-ups step in and steer things in the right direction.

Now, shall we begin?

May 30th.

Page six, better known as the gossip section of the world-famous tabloid, the New York Post,

not the New York Times, not the New York Daily News, the New York Post,

runs a breathless story, headlined, Disney execs in panic over upcoming Star Wars film,

stating that Rogue One is, quote, in crisis.

This is a crisis.

And that the film will have to go into four weeks of expensive reshoots over the summer

...