As a Star Wars fan, I, like many others, was enthralled and inspired by the story told in the 2016 standalone Star Wars film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Now with the growing popularity of shows continuing and expanding the Star Wars universe, we can discover the origins of one of our favorites in the Rogue One crew – Cassian Andor. In ANDOR, we follow Cassian and learn about his humble beginnings as well as what ignited the fire that led him to the rebellion.
I had the opportunity to attend the press junket for ANDOR and was able to hear about the show firsthand from creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy as well as star and executive producer Diego Luna and castmates Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma), Adria Arjona (Bix Caleen), Denise Gough (Dedra Meero), and Kyle Soler (Syril Karn).
When I first heard about the show in development, I was immediately on board but wanted to know more about the showrunners’ decision to move forward with exploring more on Cassian’s background. Did his story resonate with viewers as much as it had with me? When asked a similar question, Tony Gilroy expressed wanting to explore what brought Cassian to the events in Rogue One and how he ended up there:
“I think the main idea is we have a character in Rogue One, and we know where he ends up, and the idea that we can do a story that takes him literally from his childhood origins and walk him through a five-year history of an odyssey that takes him to that place, during a revolution, during a moment in history in a place where huge events are happening and real people are being crushed by it, the fact that we could follow somebody as an example of a revolution all the way through to the end, that was the walk-in for me.”
Cassian as a character always felt so relatable and relevant in today’s world. When asked about what it felt like to step back into the role, Diego Luna echoed the need to explore more of Cassian’s story and its relevance to the current time we live in:
“Rogue One is about an event. You don’t get to know these characters. You don’t get to understand exactly where they come from [and] what needed to happen. For me, it’s quite relevant today to tell the story of what needs to happen for a revolutionary to emerge, to exist, to come to live. What gives meaning in the life of someone to be willing to sacrifice everything for a cause? What needs to happen? That journey matters to me. And the character says stuff that it haunts me in Rogue One. You know that he has started to fight since he was six years old. What does that mean exactly? You know, why a six-year-old would miss his childhood to start a fight?”
Also returning is Mon Mothma, one of the pivotal characters in the first movie of the original trilogy, A New Hope. Although we saw a bit of her in Rogue One, ANDOR also explores her background as a senator. Speaking to Genevieve O’Reilly, she expressed excitement in being able to explore different facets of Mon Mothma:
“We’ve met Mon Mothma before in different iterations, in different versions of the Star Wars storytelling. And each time we’ve met her, we’ve met this kind of composed, regal, dignified woman who often, like with Cassian in Rogue One, she is to send people out on a mission. I think what’s extraordinary about how Tony has written Andor and where he has chosen to begin this story is so very different to where we find Mon Mothma in Rogue One, She is still that very dignified senator. But for the first time, we get to see the woman behind the role. We get to flesh out not just the senator, not just the would-be leader of a Rebel Alliance, but also the woman.”
With the return of recognizable characters, we also have some new players joining the fold, including two very powerful female characters. Although we don’t know much about her yet, Adria Arjona portrays Bix Caleen. When asked about bringing empowerment through the screen, Adria mentioned boldness and compassion being key elements in bringing Bix to life:
“I think she’s fearless, and she’s bold, yet really deep inside, she’s incredibly loyal and compassionate and cares a little too much for the people around her. I think that’s sometimes to her own detriment. I think this boldness and powerful thing is sort of like a facade that she puts on for… she almost puts that as a show. But deep down, she cares deeply about the people around her, and I think that’s the part that I love the most about Bix.”
Denise Gough plays ISP officer Dedra Meero. When asked how her character fits into the overall arc of the ANDOR story, Denise described that at the beginning of ANDOR, we find Dedra ambitious and anxious to climb the ranks:
“When we meet her, she’s at the low end of the ladder, and she’s incredibly ambitious and meticulous. [W]hat I love about playing her is that she’s in this very male-dominated world, and she’s seeing around her the way that people are missing what she can see is happening.”
Strong female characters in Star Wars are nothing new, and I’ve always loved seeing these powerful characters on our screen regardless of whether they’re the “good guys” or “bad guys”. They’re always fleshed-out characters that are strong and courageous while being able to be flawed and make mistakes and that’s what makes them relatable. When elaborating on being one of these strong female characters, Denise Gough described Dedra’s pursuit of power in more detail:
“[S]he’s clawing her way up the ladder and I love portraying the effect that power just has on a person, the danger of that pursuit of power and control, regardless of gender. I do kind of love that you’re thinking oh, go girl, and then you remember, she’s in a fascist organization. So, I’m getting a real thrill being able to play her.”
Rounding out the list of new characters in ANDOR, Syril Karn is portrayed by Kyle Soler and is also an ISP officer. Kyle Soler elaborated on what attracted him to the role:
“What attracted me to the role was Tony’s writing. He had created a character that was really three-dimensional and had a big question mark over him as to, well, he could kind of go either way. He could go into the Empire. He could go into the Rebel Alliance and he’s got a lot of gray areas.”
Through some audience questions, Adria and Diego were asked about the importance of representing the Hispanic community in the Star Wars universe as well as Hispanic actors being able to get these types of roles in Hollywood. Adria Arjona went on to say although it wasn’t a huge part of the conversation or the reason for her casting, she’s hopeful and excited to be a part of the shift
“It gives me hope that now a little girl’s gonna watch it and be like oh my god, that girl kind of looks like me, and maybe I want to be like her in Halloween or whatever that may be. It’s really exciting and it comes to show how things are shifting. I’m happy that Tony brought me along, but it wasn’t part of the conversation, which was I think the most beautiful thing about it. It wasn’t like, oh, you’re Hispanic, so you need to be in this. I think it was really about the work.”
Diego Luna echoed Adria’s words and added that audiences are sending a message as to what they want to see on the screen and who they connect with:
“I think the industry is reacting to some things happening out there. We’re supposed to be a mirror for audiences to be able to see themselves there and gladly, and I think with the platforms and these new ways to connect with audiences, I think audiences are sending the right messages. I think when you buy a ticket, you send a message. When you don’t buy it, you send a message, and the industry will respond to that.”
One big and notable difference between ANDOR and previous shows set in the Star Wars universe is the use of real sets. With previous shows mainly shooting on sets surrounded by the innovative LED immersive soundstage, “The Volume”, ANDOR is shot on sets that are completely built. When speaking about the real-world inspirations for the sets in the show, Tony Gilroy touched on the sets they shot on:
“It’s a 360 set, ad the community that we were allowed to build within it and the social structures and the rituals of it, because there are some really intense rituals about it, it really feels like a place…It’s a fantastic maximal expression of imagination to be able to do it. It’s thrilling.”
Lastly, the group discussed what makes ANDOR stand out from the shows we’ve already seen from Star Wars, all innovative and entertaining in their own right. As Diego Luna put it:
“It is a show about us. It is a show about these people finding the strength to come up with a reaction, to change, and bring change to their reality. It’s very inspiring. It’s huge. It’s as big as Tony says, and it’s adventure and action at its best, what you expect from Star Wars, but then it goes very intimate and it’s very subtle and it takes time to understand each character and it has time for each storyline. I just think it’s very rich. It’s powerful and people are going to like it hopefully.”
ANDOR, the 12-episode series will premiere exclusively on Disney+ with the first three episodes available on September 21.
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