Secrecy is essential to Cassian Andor's line of work, and the same held true for Andor star Diego Luna's involvement in his upcoming Star Wars series.
In Vanity Fair's new profile about the roster of new Disney+ Star Wars shows, Luna confessed that the first time he and writer Tony Gilroy discussed the idea of an Andor prequel over the phone in 2019, he was wracked with paranoia. The Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actor recalled talking to Gilroy while in a cab in Mexico City and, fearing the driver would overhear him, did everything possible not to mention the franchise by name. This led to him "speaking in code words because I was trying not to say too much in the car."
Up until now, Luna has remained elusive about the plot of Andor, which follows the eponymous character's upbringing and service in the Rebel Alliance prior to Rogue One. This meant keeping the story hidden from everyone, no matter how much he wanted to tell people. "One thing I remember, from being part of this since day one, is how little you can share of what happens," Luna continued. "I have kids, man. It's painful for them -- and for me."
Luna and Gilroy have since described Andor in the profile as "the journey of a migrant," following a protagonist displaced from his homeworld by the Empire and, despite initially not wanting to fight back, eventually commits himself to the Rebellion. "His adopted home will become the base of our whole first season, and we watch that place become radicalized," Gilroy teased, drawing colonialism parallels with the Empire as a source of Andor's antagonism.
Andor, which has reportedly been renewed a second season, won't feature the chronological debut of Cassian Andor's Rogue One Imperial droid companion K-2SO. It will, however, see Forest Whitaker and Genevieve O'Reilly reprise their Rogue One roles as revolutionary-turned-extremist Saw Gerrera and Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma, respectively. Both characters have starred in prior Star Wars projects, with Gerrera debuting in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Mothma appearing in Return of the Jedi before O'Reilly played her in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. The two actors would later voice their characters on Star Wars Rebels, followed by Whitaker voicing Saw again in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Other notable cast members of Andor include Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough and Kyle Soller.
Lucasfilm's next major Star Wars show, Obi-Wan Kenobi, will release its first two episodes next week, with Ewan McGregor and Hadyen Christensen returning as Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, respectively. Andor will be followed up by Ahsoka in 2023, starring Rosario Dawson as the eponymous ex-Jedi who, like Gerrera, originated from The Clone Wars. It was announced earlier this month that Ahsoka had officially begun production.
Andor premieres on Disney+ in late summer 2022.
Source: Vanity Fair