Disney+'s newest Star Wars show, Andor, was planned out as a five-season journey, but showrunner Tony Gilroy explained how they managed to condense the story it into just two.
"I was just like, 'I wonder what would happen if we now sped up our storytelling,' ’cause we’ve done such a rigorous job along the way of being so detailed," Gilroy said in an interview with Rolling Stone. "'What happens now if we take a different tempo and use each block of three as a year, and we leave these huge gaps in between, and we make the negative space of that really, really huge and fantastic and important?' And we went and told [Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy], ’cause we didn’t have any idea of what the expectation was. And they were like, 'No, we’re into that.' And it’s an entirely new narrative toy that I never would’ve had the chance to play with."
Disney+'s Andor will see Diego Luna reprise his 2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story role as Rebel spy Cassian Andor. The series will focus on the backstory of Andor and flesh out the early days of the Rebel Alliance, serving as a prequel to Lucasfilm's Star Wars anthology film, Rogue One. The first season will consist of 12 episodes. Gilroy has previously teased the scale of the series, which is intended to cover the five years leading up to Rogue One. In another interview, Gilroy teased that Andor will expand on the titular character's past and how that influenced his ultimate sacrifice in the 2016 film.
Andor's Five-Year Journey
"This guy gave his life for the galaxy, right? I mean, he consciously, soberly, without vanity or recognition, sacrificed himself. Who does that?" Gilroy said at the time. "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."
Filming on Season 1 wrapped in September 2021 following significant production delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The series was renewed for a second season before its premiere on Disney+, and is expected to start filming in November 2022. Gilroy previously estimated that it would take roughly two years for Season 2 to premiere, similar to the timeline of Season 1.
Along with Luna reprising his Rogue One role, Forest Whitaker and Genevieve O'Reilly are also expected to reprise their respective roles as Saw Gerrera and fan-favorite rebel leader Mon Mothma. The cast of Andor also includes Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller and Robert Emms.
Andor is available to stream on Disney+, with new episodes premiering every Wednesday.
Source: Rolling Stone