The first teaser trailer for Disney+'s live-action Star Wars series Andor has arrived.
The footage was released at Star Wars Celebration and features the return of Diego Luna's fan-favorite Rogue One character Cassian Andor. The trailer also confirms the premiere date of Wednesday, Aug. 31.
A spy for the Rebel Alliance, Cassian Andor first appeared in the 2016 anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Alongside the rest of the ragtag group of rebels known as Rogue One, Cassian met his demise during the Battle of Scarif -- though not before he and Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) managed to steal the Death Star plans and transmit them to the Rebel Alliance. Their sacrifice paved the way for Luke Skywalker to destroy the infamous space station in 1977's original Star Wars film, which canonically takes place immediately after the events of Rogue One.
With the advent of Disney+, it was long rumored that a live-action series delving into Cassian's origins was in the works for the platform. Disney+ confirmed it was developing a Cassian Andor-led Star Wars series in April 2019, with Luna attached to reprise the role from Rogue One. In December 2020, the show was officially announced to be titled Andor. It was at this point that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy also announced additional cast members
Luna will be joined in Andor by Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Robert Emms and David Hayman. Additionally, Genevieve O'Reilly reprises her role as Mon Mothma from Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One, while Forest Whitaker reprises his role as Saw Gerrera from Rogue One, Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It was initially announced that Rogue One star Alan Tudyk would be reprising his role as Cassian's droid companion K-2SO, though this no longer appears to be the case.
Rogue One co-writer Tony Gilroy serves as showrunner of Andor, which takes place roughly five years before the events of the 2016 anthology film. "This guy gave his life for the galaxy, right? I mean, he consciously, soberly, without vanity or recognition, sacrificed himself," Gilroy said of the show's lead character. "Who does that? That's what this first season is about. It's about him being really revolution-averse, and cynical, and lost, and kind of a mess."
Gilroy continued, "His adopted home will become the base of our whole first season, and we watch that place become radicalized. 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." Luna himself went on to call Andor "the journey of a migrant." The show was previously confirmed to be slated for a 2022 release, with Gilroy revealing that a second season was indeed in the works.
Andor premieres Aug. 31 on Disney+.
Source: YouTube