Diego Luna reprises the role of Cassian Andor in the new Star Wars Disney+ series Andor. In this interview he talks about coming back and what fans can expect.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is one of the most underrated films in the Star Wars franchise. Finally fans are getting a spin-off featuring Diego Luna’s character, Cassian Andor. This new Disney+ series is titled Andor and tells the story of how he came to be a part of the rebellion. During the press conference in support of the release, Luna talks about coming back to the role and what fans can expect from the series.
When asked about returning to the franchise, the first thing that Diego Luna mentioned was getting the chance to be back working with people he considers family. “Getting to do more stuff with Tony, which is someone I admire, and I love his company and collaborating with him, is amazing. So just being back felt great.”
He goes on to say that Rogue One is a film about an event and that viewers don’t get to know the characters, not really. They don’t get to understand exactly where they come from. So he was excited to get to dive more into Cassian Andor’s past and explore how he came to be who he was in that movie.
“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 life. What gives meaning in the life of someone to be willing to sacrifice everything for a cause… what needs to happen?”
That is the journey that matters to Luna. So much so that some of Cassian’s lines from Rogue One still haunt him. The fact that Andor said he started fighting when he was six years old is one of those lines. “Why a six-year-old would miss his childhood and start a fight?” is a question that Luna was happy to finally get answers to, and he hopes Star Wars fans feel the same way.
“He talks about a dark past. He talks about doing terrible stuff for the Rebellion. What is he referring to? I think that story matters. That story is interesting. And there is a lot of material there for us to play.” Luna explains as he says that he was very excited to dive into that story and those answers.
When it comes to Cassian’s past, there are a lot of unanswered questions — even more than the ones Luna proposed himself. So which part of Cassian Andor’s past did Diego Luna most want to explore? How far can someone be from learning he could be a tool of change?
“How far can you be from that and still find your way into acknowledging that you are capable of big stuff. I think it was that. It was like, how far can we find Cassian? You see the guy in the first episode and you don’t see any possibility of that happening. That to me gives me hope in the world we live in. If that’s possible, anyone can do something. We can all find what we are capable of and it’s about the reference, it’s about what we find and the people we meet in our journey. And I always thought of him as a character that has been forced to move therefore he brings a pain that he’s carrying that is making him very cynical about life.” – Diego Luna on Cassian Andor
Luna gets to explore a lot of the person that Andor used to be. Who he was before he joined the Rebellion and what brought him to that point in his life. It has been said several times that this is not the Cassian Andor fans know and love from Rogue One, so where did he start off and how did he get there? That is what the confirmed 24 episodes of Andor will show us.
It will explore the person that he was. As Luna explains, we will see him “finding a way to get the clarity of someone that suddenly starts believing — that goes through a process of acknowledging that articulating something in community can give you enough strength to be useful and to bring change.”
He adds, “We have to be so real because we pretend to be in a galaxy far, far away. This story matters today in the world we live in. Otherwise, I wouldn’t care. I always saw this potential in this story.”
Tune in to the first three episodes of Andor when it hits Disney+ on September 21st to see the beginning of the story that Diego Luna always believed in.
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About Andor
The “Andor” series will explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved.
It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.
Andor premieres on Disney+ September 21st with the first three episodes.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.