By Josh Bate
One of the many reasons why the ending of 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was so devastating was the death of the core main characters. More specifically, while fans were grateful to have met these characters in general, there was also a longing to spend more time with them. Of course, their deaths on Scarif made it impossible for the likes of Jyn to appear in a sequel film or show. However, there was always a possible of a prequel project, an idea that excited fans right away. Fortunately, that’s exactly what we’re getting with Andor, a new Disney+ series focused on Diego Luna’s character prior to the events of Rogue One.
Andor is an enticing project for many reasons. Seeing Luna in the Star Wars galaxy once again is an obvious draw that excites fans, as does K-2SO (who, despite allegedly not being in the first season, will surely appear down the line in future seasons, according to actor Alan Tudyk, who played the droid in Rogue One). As was the nature of Rogue One, the pacing was often incredibly fast, moving so quickly to the point where characters like Cassian and his backstory didn’t get explored very much. This worked for Rogue One very well, and also provides the opportunity to go back and tell the origins of Cassian, as we’ll see in Andor. His line “I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old!”, for example, is bound to be explored in Andor, and provides an interesting setup for learning why Cassian is so passionate and invested in the Rebellion, and why he’s willing to blur the lines between the light and the dark for the cause.
The time at which Andor is set provides another point of interest for fans and is yet another reason why we’re excited for the show. Set 3 years prior to Rogue One, Andor has the potential to intersect with many other Star Wars projects. For example, as fans will know, Obi-Wan Kenobi is alive and well at this time, albeit in self imposed isolation on Tatooine to protect Luke. Given Andor’s role in the Rebellion and Bail Organa’s appearance in Rogue One, it’s entirely possibly that we can see both Obi-Wan and Organa in the show. Andor can also connect to or reference the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi, another upcoming series on Disney+ in general, another interesting prospect. Given their shared Fulcrum title, it’s also conceivable that Cassian and Ahsoka cross paths, especially given the positive reception to Rosario Dawson’s portrayal of the character and the upcoming Disney+ series of her own.
The team behind Andor is yet another reason to look forward to the show. The showrunner is Tony Gilroy, an Academy Award nominated screenwriter and director (both nominations were for his 2009 thriller Michael Clayton). Gilroy also knows the character of Cassian intimately, having worked on Rogue One as a screenwriter alongside Chris Weitz. Gilroy also wrote the first three Bourne movies, again highlighting his ability as a screenwriter. Alongside Gilroy is his brother, Dan, who wrote and directed the excellent Nightcrawler and Velvet Buzzsaw respectively, both starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Beau Willimon is another writer on Andor, and he served as show runner for House of Cards, the critically acclaimed Netflix series. Finally, Stephen Schiff, the original show runner for Andor prior to Gilroy’s arrival who still receives a story credit, is another exciting creative mind behind the scenes, given his work on FX’s The Americans, arguably one of the best shows in the last decade. Given Andor’s description as a spy thriller, the combination of the Gilroy brothers, Willimon, and Schiff, all of whom have excelled in this exact genre, make Andor an intriguing prospect.
Andor will premiere on Disney+ in 2022. Until then, Star Wars fans have lots to look forward to. The Bad Batch premieres on May 4th, Star Wars day, 2021, while The Book of Boba Fett is set to release this December.
Images courtesy of Lucasfilm and Disney