Andor will change our understanding of legacy Star Wars characters

The 2016 Star Wars movie Rogue One starts with Rebel operative Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) being cynical and selfish, but by the end of the movie, he learns the value of solidarity and is willing to sacrifice for a greater cause.

Cassian will return in a new Disney+ series called Andor, set five years before Rogue One. In this series, he’ll begin being cynical and selfish…and I guess will just remain that way. “It’s about him being really revolution-averse, and cynical, and lost, and kind of a mess,” showrunner Tony Gilroy told Vanity Fair. “His adopted home will become the base of our whole first season, and we watch that place become radicalized,” Gilroy continued. “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.” The showrunner describes the series as a “spy thriller.”

Andor showrunner promises “surprises” in new Star Wars series

I’ve been looking kinda cock-eyed at Andor for a while. Of all the Star Wars series on the way — Ahsoka, The Acolyte, more of The Mandalorian, etc. — this one gives off a lot of “but why?” vibes. Was anybody clamoring for a series about the male lead from Rogue One given that we already know how his story ends?

Well, apparently, the new series will change the way we view other parts of the Star Wars canon. “There are certain events that happen in these five years that are important and need to be paid attention to,” Gilroy said. “There are certain people, characters that are legacy characters, that the audience, the passionate audience, really feels that they have an understanding of and know. In some cases they’re right. And in some cases, what we’re saying is, ‘What you know, what you’ve been told, what’s on Wookieepedia, what you’ve been telling each other… is really all wrong.’”

"[Or] it’s upside down, or it’s sideways, or it’s the opposite of what you thought was true. Or it’s way more interesting than you had ever thought. Or that’s a lie and there’s a reason for it. I would say that there’s some surprises in store."

In addition to Luna, Andor also stars Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, and Genevieve O’Reilly as Rebel leader Mon Mothma. We don’t have an exact release date yet, but Andor is due out on Disney+ sometime this summer.

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h/t IndieWire