Actor Diego Luna had a very clear idea of his character Cassian Andor’s background long before the show was even announced.
Reprising his Rebel spy role from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Luna’s excellent portrayal of the titular role in the Disney+ series Andor is offering a riveting context to the events of the 2016 movie and giving Cassian Andor’s sacrifice an even bigger meaning.
In an interview with Filmfare, Luna revealed that he had created a backstory for his character himself, back when he was shooting for Rogue One.
Turned out, the narrative show maker Tony Gilroy (of The Bourne series fame) had in mind was very close to what he had come up with:
"“I wrote a backstory for myself. Every time you do a role and prepare for it you create a little story so you know where they’re coming from – what triggers this line or this action. Now we got to do that again but this time in collaboration which was fantastic… I have a very strong connection with Andor and I like the way he thinks and I think I understand the way he thinks. And I trust the creator Tony Gilroy so much. That’s why when he was telling me the story and what happened when Cassian was a kid I was like yeah, that’s fantastic. It does connect with the story I made. I mean in essence at least, it’s very similar.”"
Luna further added that the main challenge of making Andor was that unlike most other shows, where the creators are free to determine the ending, the destiny of Cassian Andor was already decided here.
Fans are aware of what happens to the Rebel Alliance hero, so the goal was to tell the story of how Andor ends up there:
"“We go as far as possible from that man we meet in Rogue One. That was a great challenge… We already know what he’s capable of but the point is how he will find out he’s capable of that. That’s where the real story is.”"
Andor premiered on September 21, 2022, with the first three episodes being released. The first season is going to have 12 episodes in total.
Watch the official trailer below: