Long live the Rebellion.
Disney+ series “Andor” premieres August 31 on the streamer, and stars Diego Luna as the titular Cassian Andor who served as a Rebel spy and helped deliver Death Star received by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in “A New Hope.”
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Set five years before “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” the series is billed by showrunner Tony Gilroy as a “spy thriller.” The series ensemble cast includes Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, and Fiona Shaw. “Andor” will also mark the return of Genevieve O’Reilly as the former senator-turned-Rebel leader Mon Mothma. The teaser trailer was released May 26 during the “Star Wars” Celebration in Anaheim, California.
The series is set to unspool across two 12-episode seasons, with filming on Season 2 taking place this fall. Emmy-winning “Succession” composer Nicholas Britell is handling the score.
“You’re not going to recognize Cassian Andor in the beginning,” lead star Luna said at the “Star Wars” celebration on May 26. “I cannot wait for you to meet him.”
Showrunner Gilroy previously teased that “Andor” will subvert “Star Wars” fans expectations through “sideways” storytelling and reframe the 2016 trilogy. “It’s about him being really revolution-averse, and cynical, and lost, and kind of a mess,” Gilroy said, with the story following Andor (Luna) into adulthood after the destruction of his world.
“His adopted home will become the base of our whole first season, and we watch that place become radicalized,” Gilroy continued. “Then we see another planet that’s completely taken apart in a colonial kind of way. The Empire is expanding rapidly. They’re wiping out anybody who’s in their way.”
“Andor” was in development since 2018, with Luna telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2020 that the series was filmed like “a very long movie.”
Other “Star Wars” Disney+ series include “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” premiering May 27, and the long-awaited live action “Ahsoka” series. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” star Hayden Christensen also hinted that an Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader standalone show may be in the works; Christensen reprises his “Clone Wars” prequel character in both respective upcoming series.
“Rangers of the Republic” is also slated to connect the “Star Wars” Disney+ series and complete the “Star Wars” TV universe, building to an epic crossover event. The new series will follow a group of X-wing pilots during the same timeline as “The Mandalorian.”
Watch the first look for “Andor” below.
“Andor” premieres August 31 on Disney+.
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