New Photos From The STAR WARS Series ANDOR and Tony Gilroy Talks Season 2 - "It's The Second Half of the Novel"
Lucasfilm’s upcoming Rogue One prequel series Andor looks great! The footage I’ve seen is so much better than what I was expecting, and it actually got me excited about a show that I initially wasn’t excited about. Andor already has a second season in development and production on that is going to kick off in November and series creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy, who co-wrote the Rogue One screenplay and was the uncredited director on reshoots for the film, recently talked about the second season in an interview with Total Film, saying it’s "the second half of the novel.”
He went on to explain: "We have four blocks of three [episodes] coming up [for season 2]. And each block will move you one year closer to Rogue One. And because it's a year [each time], we can do something really fascinating narratively that you would never have the chance to do in a film. It's exciting."
The series stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, and the story is set five years before the events of Rogue One, and it tracks how and why Cassian joined the rebellion as the Empire aggressively expands its reach across the galaxy. The series is described as a "refugee story" that sees people trying to escape from a fully powered Empire. Luna previously shared, “It's the journey of a migrant. That feeling of having to move is behind this story, very profoundly and very strong. That shapes you as a person. It defines you in many ways, and what you are willing to do."
Luna talked about the process of being involved with a show like this, saying: "It's a beautiful moment. We're getting ready. Things are being written and questioned, going back and forth... it's beautiful to live that process from beginning to end, you know?"
It’s explained that Season 2 of the series ends where Rogue One starts, and when talking about Cassian's right-hand droid, reprogrammed Imperial unit K-2SO, Luna explains: "It says a lot that his best friend [in the movie] is a droid, you know? Or his only friend, I should say. But in the show, we're going to start with someone who is very different from the quiet, lonely man we meet in Rogue One. We're so far away from that in this first season; there's a whole journey for us to explore..."
The rest of the cast includes Stellan Skarsgard (Thor), Adria Arjona (Morbius), Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve), Denise Gough (Under the Banner of Heaven) and Kyle Soller (Poldark). Then there’s Forest Whitaker who will reprise his role as Saw Gerrera, Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma, and Ben Mendelsohn, who will reportedly be back as Imperial Director Orson Krennic.
The directors include Toby Haynes (Black Mirror: USS Callister), Benjamin Caron (The Crown) and Susanna White (Bleak House).
Andor launches on Disney+ with a three-episode premiere on September 21st.