Andor Will Make Star Wars Fans Re-Think Rogue One, Says Diego Luna
"Rogue One" may have annihilated its titular rebel crew on Scarif, but death has never stopped "Star Wars" from exploring its roster of characters who have canonically passed on. Even before Jyn Erso transmitted the Death Star plans to the Rebellion, there's a decades-long history of the Empire's tyrannical reign across the galaxy left to explore. The fight against the Empire goes far beyond the legacy of the Skywalkers.
Lucasfilm's first major feature spin-off showed the bleak and desperate plight of the rebels at a critical point in the war, with intelligence officer Cassian Andor leading the mission. The character, played by "Y Tu Mama Tambien" star Diego Luna, offers glimpses into how deeply he's been entrenched in the fight against the Empire.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Luna made it clear that everything we're about to see in the upcoming "Andor" television show is going to confront and challenge how the "Rogue One" character came to be the morally questionable rebel spy:
"Everyone who watched Rogue One thinks they have the answer. So 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.'"
Andor looks like the perfect gateway to the spark of rebellion
What Luna is describing here is essentially the foundation of any prequel, but unlike "Obi-Wan Kenobi," where we'd already seen acquainted with both spectrums of the character's journey, there's still an air of mystery as to how Andor came to be in this fight.
Andor proved to be one of the most interesting characters in Gareth Edward's spy thriller, but even then I couldn't drum up much interest in an entire show about him. Having seen the 10-minute preview of "Andor" that preceded the recent IMAX re-release of "Rogue One," however, my interest in the espionage series has dramatically shifted. If anything, a show that stresses the importance of fighting fascism, however possible, feels fitting right about now, and I'm actually excited to see how Andor plays into the fight.
What initially piqued my curiosity was Andor's ability to play dirty, such as offing an informant rather than letting his knowledge fall into the hands of the Empire. It appears as if the Tony Gilroy-helmed series will show the lengths to which Luna's thief-turned-rebel adopted his method of survival in the new order.
Seeing as this is the start of the rebellion, akin to "Star Wars: Rebels," the series is also going to introduce a bunch of new characters joining the fight, which adds a greater deal of tension as it will chronicle the fate of their journeys as well.
The first three episodes of "Andor" will premiere on Disney+ on September 21, 2022.