Stellan Skarsgård explains the intense secrecy and security measures in place surrounding the upcoming Star Wars series, Andor. With the success of The Mandalorian on Disney+, a number of other Star Wars series were put into development, including The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Ahsoka. Andor acts as a prequel to 2016's Rogue One and follows Diego Luna's character, Cassian Andor.
Andor takes place five years before the events of Rogue One and will see Luna reprise his role as the titular rebel spy. Details regarding the plot of the series are still scarce, but it has been described as taking place during the formative years of the Rebellion. In addition to Luna, the series will see the return of Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera and Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma, as well as newcomers Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Robert, Emms, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, and Kyle Soller, among others. A firm release date for Andor has not yet been set, but it is expected to arrive between July and September in 2022.
In a Screen Rant exclusive interview, Skarsgård has shed some light on the secrecy surrounding the show, detailing the intense process of just getting his hands on the scripts. According to Skarsgård, jumping through the security hoops can feel "weird," but it sounds like he's ultimately okay with it because of the quality of the show. Check out Skarsgård's full comment below:
"I don't know what to say because they are very secretive and you have to sign so many papers and to get the script you have to have a sort of double verification and you still can't read it. It's a very childish and weird world to enter in that sense, but I was happy to do it. First of all, because the writing is really good. It's the same writer that did Rogue One. And also to work with Diego Luna, who's an old friend. So I was excited by that. And then my character is... Well, you'll see. It's fun to play because he has a lot of different faces to show."
While Skarsgård lets very little slip about the actual content of the show, the secrecy surrounding the scripts isn't necessarily unusual, especially considering Disney's own history with Star Wars script misplacement. John Boyega famously lost the script for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and it was even put up on eBay before eventually being recovered by Disney. Although Disney got lucky with The Rise of Skywalker in that crucial story information didn't end up actually getting out to the general public, it seems like they've adjusted their policies to prevent future instances of missing scripts.
Of course, Disney isn't the only one with intense script-security protocols. Robert Pattinson claimed that he was only able to read the script for Christopher Nolan's Tenet while locked in a room and, similarly, Marvel frequently only allows specific cast members to have access to entire scripts. When it comes to large, popular franchises or highly anticipated films or shows, leaked information can ruin surprises for fans, which can take away from the excitement of actually watching it. While Andor is still a while from being released, Star Wars fans can rest assured that there will be plenty of surprises in store when it does eventually premiere next year, and that scripts for the series will remain closely guarded.
