Star Wars: Andor will “challenge every idea you have” about Rogue One

Star Wars: Andor is the next Star Wars show coming down the pike. It’s a prequel to the 2016 movie Rogue One, which starred Diego Luna as Rebel spy Cassian Andor. The new show takes place earlier in Cassian’s life, when he’s getting involved with the Rebellion.

If you watched Rogue One, you know that Cassian…well, he doesn’t make it. Some fans have wondered what the point of seeing his origin story is when we know how his story ends, but Luna says that there’s lots we don’t know. “In fact, we’re going to challenge every idea you have, or every answer you came up with, for why or how things happened and why this character did what he did,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

"Why was he willing to sacrifice everything for the cause? What did it mean when he said, “I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old”? What did he mean when he said, “I’ve done terrible things on behalf of the Rebellion”? So that’s what we’re going to challenge because everyone who watched Rogue One thinks they have the answer. We’re going to challenge that, and we’re going to come to you and say, “No, listen, things were not the way you imagined. They were this way. This had to happen for someone to become the person you know.”"

With prequel shows like House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power currently burning up the airwaves, there’s no reason a Rogue One prequel couldn’t work. That said, I’m most intrigued by the grittiness I’ve seen in the trailers; this is the first Star Wars shows that makes extensive use of practical sets rather than virtual sets, and it shows.

“With Rogue One, we were asked to be different. We were a standalone. We were a different Star Wars story that had a beginning and an end,” Luna said. “And now, we have a Star Wars series that is a standalone again, with a beginning and an end. And it’s meant to be different. It’s meant to be its own thing.” Bring on the difference.

Diego Luna “mourned” Cassian Andor after Rogue One

Hopefully we’re not thinking about how Cassian’s story ends while watching his new show. That said, even Diego Luna felt a little odd playing this guy again after he died. “I let the guy go. I mourned. I even had ceremonies to talk about him,” Luna laughed. “And then there I was, being Cassian again. But I was also coming out of the worst time of confinement during the pandemic. So it wasn’t just the weirdness of going back to play a guy whose death I already played, but it was also because I was coming out of many months of being the most stationary I’ve been since I was a baby. I couldn’t move in the crib. (Laughs.) So, social interaction was gone in our lives, and suddenly, I was going back to a set. ”

"So it took time, but it was fascinating at the same time because I was relearning a language and relearning to communicate. It was very interesting and very unique, like no other job, and being far away from my house during such a difficult moment was very intense in many ways. But even when things seemed impossible, we found a way to shoot the series and make sure it was safe for everyone. So it was a reminder to ourselves that what we do matters."

Star Wars: Andor premieres on Disney+ on September 21.

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