Here's The Real Life Inspiration For Andor's Home Planet
Spoilers for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" ahead.
"Andor," the next "Star Wars" Disney+ series, premieres next month, and /Film was able to attend a press conference recently held for the show. During the event, writer/executive producer/showrunner Tony Gilroy gave the world some insight into the character of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). We know him from "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," where he, along with the rest of his crew, sacrificed themselves to help the Rebellion. What the show will explore is how he came to be a man so devoted to the fight against the Empire.
In "Andor," we're beginning five years before the events of "Rogue One," and the 12 episodes of season 1 are set to cover the first year of that span of time. That means we're also going to see some of Cassian's home planet. Gilroy spoke to the crowd about the inspiration for the place Cassian called home as a child.
An equal world
Gilroy said that he grew up in upstate New York, in a town he called "a kind of blue collar place, and everybody always had jobs." He said that at the age of 12, people in his town would go get their working papers. He mentioned working for masons, a painting company, and apprenticing to a plumber, just from his own personal experience.
The thing that Gilroy took from it for Cassian's homeworld was the economic situation. He called the place he created:
" ... an idealized fantasy of mine, of a community that's been stable and benevolent and thriving, and we don't have any economic diversity there, really ... I suppose it's my utopian mechanical side fantasy of a place that really, really functions, taking things apart and putting things back together again."
The set for this world was built for them by production designer Luke Hull ("Chernobyl") and his team in a 360 manner, with an "eight-and-a-half acre city ... that we use for all 12 episodes." He explained that this allowed the team to build social structures and "really intense rituals" around it. They created "a whole culture," and said that it felt like "a place to play god."
In addition to Luna who also acts as an executive producer, "Andor" stars Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma, Kyle Soller as Syril Karn, Denise Gough as Dedra Meero, and Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen. The series also stars Stellan Skarsgård and Fiona Shaw.
"Andor" will premiere on Disney+ on September 21, 2022.