One of the stars of Andor reveals that the production designers built a real-life outdoor city for the sci-fi series. Andor will be the next spinoff series in the Star Wars universe to air exclusively on the streaming service Disney+, with its first three episodes dropping on September 21, 2022, followed by weekly releases for its remaining nine episodes. It will be the third and final live-action series in the franchise to air in 2022, following The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, both of which also featured returning characters. It will be set in a similar time period as Obi-Wan Kenobi, before the events of A New Hope.

In the build-up to Andor's release, much has been said about how it differs from other Star Wars projects. This doesn't just apply to the tone and storytelling approach, which is akin to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Andor is also changing things up behind the camera from a filmmaking perspective. Whereas the likes of The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi made extensive use of The Volume to create its environments, Andor shot as much as possible on location, in order to convey its sense of scope. The creative team even constructed their own city so they could film the galaxy far, far away in-camera.

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Recently, Collider had the opportunity to interview Adria Arjona, who plays new character Bix Caleen on Andor. When she was asked what would be the most surprising thing for fans to learn about the series, she revealed that the city of Ferrix is an actual city. She explains being flabbergasted the first time she walked onto the set, describing it as "three to five city blocks" of an actual real-life outdoor city. Read her full quote below:

They built an entire city for us, like an entire city. I got lost in it. I remember the first day that I walked on set, and I was in costume already, which was a coincidence. It just happened that was the day that they gave me the tour. I was at a costume fitting and I went over there, and I was mind blown. It was an entire outdoor city that exists. Ferrix exists. It's not in a studio. It's not parts of a set that we filmed in studio. It is very much a city. I keep saying three to five city blocks. I could be wrong. And I also could be maybe under, I'm not sure, I'm not good with distances.

Star Wars Andor Bix Caleen Adria Arjona

The revelation that they built such a huge chunk of a practical city is surprising in today's age of computer-generated special effects. However, it seems to have been one that paid off. The Andor trailers have done a great job highlighting the show's aesthetic, with some commenting it boasts the best visuals of any Star Wars show to date. While The Volume is an amazing piece of technology, it can be limiting at times due to the size of the stage. By constructing an actual city set, the Andor team ensured their actors can perform in real environments, which ideally will be beneficial for the series' exciting set pieces and battles.

It is possible that they decided to commit to building this giant standing set for Andor for several reasons. First, the series has more longevity than the recent six-episode Star Wars miniseries, with the 12-episode season 1 being followed by an equally long season 2, which has already been renewed. Second, this may imply that the city on Ferrix is a location where the bulk of the story will take place, rather than featuring a world-hopping adventure like The Mandalorian, who didn't stay on any one planet for very long. Andor creator Tony Gilroy has said the set was used for every episode, implying Ferrix has a large role to play.

Source: Collider