Diego Luna has revealed that the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story spinoff series about his character Cassian Andor will film this year. The series will premiere on Disney+. It is one of only a few Star Wars television series announced to be coming to the streamer. The Rogue One spinoff hopes to follow the success of The Mandalorian, along with the announced Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor, though that project is currently facing delays as scripts are reworked.
In Rogue One, Cassian is a rebel fighter who, along with Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), leads a small team on an important mission to get the Empire's Death Star plans. While they successfully complete their mission, the whole crew is killed in the Battle of Scarif. The upcoming series will therefore be a prequel centered around Cassian and the droid K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) as they fight for the Rebellion. Tony Gilroy, the director of Rogue One's reshoots, will serve as showrunner, both writing and directing the upcoming series.
Luna revealed the information in an exclusive for ET. He confirmed that the series will be filming this year and that he is currently "getting ready for it." As for the plot, he said he's read some scripts and is "really excited" about the project. Luna also spoke about the unique situation of the prequel series and how to tell an engaging story while already knowing where Cassian ends up.
It is a different approach because of the beauty and it's how things happen. It's not just what happens. It's not the typical way of approaching a story. It's about how things happen, which in fact, is the same that happened in Rogue One. You know the ending, but you don't know how it happened, and we have that challenge in front of us again, which is exciting.
The time period for the show has not been released yet, so it's unclear how old Cassian will be. Because of this, Luna has spoken about possibly being digitally de-aged for the series.
Until then, Luna is focusing on Narcos: Mexico, in which he stars as drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo. The second season drops on Netflix on February 13. Luna has proven his acting capabilities with these roles, as well as his appearances in films like Milk and If Beale Street Could Talk. He also starred in Y Tu Mamá También alongside Gael García Bernal, a film directed by Alfonso Cuarón that received critical acclaim, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
The character descriptions for the Rogue One prequel describe two Latinx characters named "Mundo" and "Cinta." The former is possibly a young Cassian at ages nine and thirteen. He is said to be "wild and unruly" with "big, passionate eyes," while the other character is a young girl, possibly a sibling. Other reports suggest that the show will also introduce a new female protagonist. While a Star Wars spinoff exploring the background of a fan favorite character hasn't proven successful in the past, it's possible they just picked the wrong character to focus on. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story introduced us to a character with a troubled past, whose moral ambiguity is a benefit to the Rebellion. Cassian is a complex character who deserves to be explored further, and thankfully, Disney feels the same way.
Source: ET