Diego Luna’s Disney+ ‘Andor’ Series Will Turn ‘Star Wars’ Canon ‘Upside Down,’ Says Showrunner
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“The Last Jedi” was only the beginning of subverting fan expectations.
Upcoming Disney+ series “Andor” is set five years before “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” and showrunner Tony Gilroy revealed that the series will completely change how “Star Wars” fans view the 2016 trilogy.
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“There are certain events that happen in these five years that are important and need to be paid attention to,” Gilroy told Vanity Fair. “There are certain people, characters that are legacy characters, that the audience, the passionate audience, really feels that they have an understanding of and know. In some cases they’re right. And in some cases, what we’re saying is, ‘What you know, what you’ve been told, what’s on Wookieepedia, what you’ve been telling each other… is really all wrong.'”
Gilroy continued, “[Or] it’s upside down, or it’s sideways, or it’s the opposite of what you thought was true. Or it’s way more interesting than you had ever thought. Or that’s a lie and there’s a reason for it. I would say that there’s some surprises in store.”
“Andor” stars Diego Luna as the titular Cassian Andor, who served as a Rebel spy and helped deliver Death Star received by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in “A New Hope.”
Gilroy described the Disney+ prequel series as a “spy thriller,” with a “huge, orchestral, Dickensian” ensemble cast including Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, and Fiona Shaw. “Andor” will also mark the return of Genevieve O’Reilly as the former senator-turned-Rebel leader Mon Mothma.
The Disney+ series does not have an announced premiere date yet, but Gilroy noted it will be out on the streamer this summer. Gilroy added to Vanity Fair that Andor’s story is one of sacrifice and migration.
“It’s about him being really revolution-averse, and cynical, and lost, and kind of a mess,” Gilroy said, with the story following Andor (Luna) into adulthood after the destruction of his world.
“His adopted home will become the base of our whole first season, and we watch that place become radicalized,” Gilroy continued. “Then we see another planet that’s completely taken apart in a colonial kind of way. The Empire is expanding rapidly. They’re wiping out anybody who’s in their way.”
Andor will be the hero the Rebellion needs — even if he’s different than what fans thought.
“Andor” is expected to premiere later in 2022.
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