Star Wars Celebration kicked off the week with an epic introduction to Disney+’s upcoming slate of new series, including the Rogue One spinoff series Andor, which stars Diego Luna as the titular Cassian Andor. Additionally, Genevieve O’Reilly is set to return as Mon Mothma, and Forest Whitaker, who appeared as live-action Saw Gerrera in Rogue One will appear, according to Stellan Skarsgård who shared this piece of news in a Swedish interview earlier this year. Newcomers to this tumultuous world include Adria Arjona, Kyle Soller, Denise Gough, Fiona Shaw, and Robert Emms, who appeared in the newly released trailer for this series.
Despite being a film with a tragic ending, Rogue One has a distinct element of hope because it’s building up to the inciting action of A New Hope. As revealed during the Star Wars Celebration, Andor will span that period from the early days of the Empire’s takeover, right up until the beginning of Rogue One. Speaking with Collider, Andor‘s showrunner Tony Gilroy discussed the state of hope in this era of the galaxy:
“We’re going back five years into the story when I would say that hope is a very, very fragile flickering flame and people are trying to hang on to it, but it’s not looking good.”
When asked if he borrowed from any real-world rebellions when penning the series, Gilroy said, “The answer is a definitive yes.” He went on to say, “I’m a writer. I read the newspaper and [I] live in the world. Am I not going to be completely affected by everything that’s going on?” George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, was famously inspired by the Vietnam War when he began envisioning a world of rebel fighters and democracies that turned into dictatorships.
Andor executive producer Sanne Wohlenberg also shared what it has been like to join the Star Wars universe, saying, “[It has been] an epic journey. You think you know about the universe, but as you dive in deeper you realize what a vast, much-loved beast of a universe it is with its own history and rules.” She also teased that she hopes fans will be inspired by the sets and locations that the series will take audiences to.
Andor is set to debut on Disney+ on August 31. Filming for the second season is set to begin later this year.
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