Diego Luna Talks How ‘Rogue One’ Influences The Spin-Off Prequel Series ‘Andor’
Among the plethora ofStar Warscontent headed to Disney+ over the next two to three years is the return of Rebel Alliance fighter Cassian Andor fromRogue One: A Star Wars Story. ActorDiego Lunais reprising his role inAndor,a spin-off seriesthat will take place before the eventsRogueOne, which ended with every major character dead. In fact, Diego Luna recently revealed that the sacrifice that Cassian Andor made will have a big influence the driving force of theAndorseries.
Speaking withThe Hollywood Reporter, Diego Luna talked about how what we learned about Cassian Andor throughoutRogue Onemakes him a fascinating character to explore in much greater depth:
“I think it’s really interesting to tell a story even though we know where it ends. The way you can approach a story like this inevitably takes you into a deeper process of reflection. I tend to use that word a lot. So once you know what Cassian is capable of, then there’s room for so much exploration, and that’s something that excites me a lot as an actor. I think the format of a series is amazing because we have a lot of time to explore all those layers.”
Not only does Cassian Andor sacrifice himself at the end ofRogue One, but he also kills Rebel informantTivik in-situ in order to keep the Rebel Alliance safe. If the Empire were to get ahold of his informant, then everything they’ve been fighting for would be for nothing. In the grand scheme of things, it makes perfect sense, but the act of killing someone for a greater cause is still something that resonates strongly, especially for the person pulling the trigger. That’s something Diego Luna is anxious to explore inAndor. The actor added:
“What happens in Rogue One is something we can actually reflect on, and what’s behind something like [sacrificing an informant]. I think it’s a very interesting challenge, the one we have in front of us. So I’m really excited to go back to that character because I really enjoyed playing him, and I was really happy with what the film represents. Rogue One was a story of regular people. It was regular people doing incredible things, and in a way, it’s a film that reminds us of the power we all have if we have a conviction. So, yeah, I feel blessed to have the chance to revisit this role.”
Indeed, one of the aspects ofRogue Onethat makes it feel much more gritty than the originalStar Warstrilogy is that we don’t have any Jedi using the Force or fighting with lightsabers (except for that menacing appearance by Darth Vader at the end). There’s not a “Chosen One” arc. And these aren’t the top tier heroes like we’ve seen across three film trilogies – these are the Rebels doing the dirty work to take down the Empire at any cost. And that’s what makesRogue Oneso interesting.
Joining Diego Luna inAndorwill beGenevieve O’Reilly,Denise Gough,Stellan Skarsgård,Kyle Soller, andAdria Arjona. Though it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s expected thatAlan Tudykwill return as the droid K-2SO. However, considering that’s an entirely digital character, that might be too expensive, even for a Star Wars TV series.
Andoris executive produced byTony Gilroyand it’s slated to arrive on Disney+ sometime in2022.
