For the first time in the Star Wars cinematic universe, the franchise broke away from the Skywalker Saga in 2016 with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The cast focused on new characters like Jyn Erso, Bodhi Rook, Baz Malbus and Chirrut Îmwe; however, two of the key members of the film, despite their tragic fates, will continue their stories on Disney+: Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, and K-2SO, portrayed by Alan Tudyk, will return, this time to the small screen.
Star Wars: Andor's Story So Far
Rogue One ended with every member of the core cast dying during the Battle of Scarif, with K-2SO being shot down by Empire soldiers and Cassian pershing beside Jyn as the Death Star annihilates the planet. With that in mind, Lucasfilms has decided to tell a prequel about Cassian's time with the Rebellion. The premise has officially been described as a "rousing spy thriller," and it will focus on Cassian's formative years with the Rebellion.
In Rogue One, Cassian is seen as the spy who is willing to get his hands dirty in the name of the Rebellion. Since he was six years old, he's been part of this fight, and as a result, he's lost a lot; however, he never lets these obstacles and tragedies stop him from fighting for what is right. That being said, as he remarks in the film, there are things he's done that he wishes he could forget, but he always did them for the cause he believed in. With a prequel series, fans can see what he's lost, sacrificed and done in the name of the Rebellion.
Star Wars: Andor's Trailer
While an official trailer has yet to drop, at Disney's Investor Day 2020, a sizzle reel for the Disney+ series was released. Along with harkening back to why Rogue One connected old and new fans, it also highlighted how grand the show will be, with the crew remarking that series is at the scale of a feature film. It's also confirmed in the video that Season 1 will be 12 episodes, and it'll feature 200 named characters.
The announcement of Andor was back in November, 2018. The show has hit several roadblocks, with principal photography originally planned to start last year. Currently, the film is still in pre-production, which had started this spring; however, while they were aiming to start principal photography this year, the Covid-19 Pandemic suspended production. While initially aiming for a 2021 release date, that has been pushed to 2022 as of 2020's Disney Investor Day. There is still no word on an exact date.
Star Wars: Andor's Cast and Crew
Along with announcing the show, it was confirmed Diego Luna would be reprising his role as Cassian. Genevieve O'Reilly, who played Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma in Rogue One and Revenge of the Sith, will also reprise her role.
Joining Luna as his co-lead is Adria Arjona, whose credits include Pacific Rim: Uprising and the upcoming Morbius. Her character, Luna, is original to the Star Wars universe and little has been released about her beyond a casting report describing her as "charismatic" and "dynamic."
There are several other actors new to the world of Star Wars, including Thor's Stellan Skarsgård, Collett's Denise Gough and Anna Karenina's Kyle Soller; however, their characters are unknown. There is also a backlog of unused Star Wars characters that, according to visual effects specialist Neal Scanlan, could get a second life in the show.
As for the showrunner, Stephen Schiff, was originally signed on for the job. Schiff earned two Emmy nominations for Best Drama Series with the KGB spy thriller The Americans. With a focus in espionage and crime, he seemed like the perfect fit to tell this Star Wars story; however, he has recently been replaced by Tony Gilroy. While no longer the showrunner, Schiff is reportedly still one of the writers.
Gilroy is a great fit for the showrunner since he brought Cassian to life as one of the writers of Rogue One's screenplay. Gilroy also acted as the director for the extensive reshoots of this film. Originally, Gilroy was brought on to rewrite the pilot after Lucasfilms was reportedly disappointed with the show's scripts, but now he will be heading the project.
Other writers include Gilroy's brother, Dan Gilroy, who co-wrote Nightcrawler with him. Beau Willimon is also attached, and he's worked with Gilroy before as the creator of House of Cards, a show produced by Gilroy.
Helmed by showrunner, Tony Gilroy, Star Wars: Cassian Andor stars Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Genevieve O'Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, Denise Gough and Kyle Soller. The Star Wars series does not currently have a confirmed release date, though is expected to premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2021.
The article will be updated as more information becomes available.