Disney Shows Supreme Confidence In Andor With Surprise Announcement
Star Wars Celebration 2022 is currently underway in Anaheim, and fans are getting glimpses of several "Star Wars" television series that are either about to premiere or are in development.
At the Lucasfilm Studio Showcase, which Looper attended, fans got a look at the teaser-trailer for the upcoming series "Andor," and they're already impressed. The series has Diego Luna returning as the morally gray Rebel Alliance member Cassian Andor, a role he originated in the 2016 movie "Star Wars: Rogue One." In "Rogue One," Andor is a committed captain in the Rebel Alliance who teams up with Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) to steal the plans for the Death Star. At the end of the film, Andor and Erso make the ultimate sacrifice, giving up their lives so the plans can make it to the rebels.
However, Andor wasn't always a passionate freedom fighter. "Andor" will explore the character's journey from a self-centered refugee of a planet destroyed by the Empire to a leader in the Rebel Alliance.
At Star Wars Celebration, creator Tony Gilroy revealed big news about the show's future.
Andor has already been renewed for a second season
Gilroy presented a teaser-trailer for the first season of "Andor," along with Luna, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and Luna's co-star Genevieve O'Reilly, who plays Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma.
Host Yvette-Nicole Brown asked Gilroy to specify when exactly "Andor" takes place within the "Star Wars" timeline. In doing so, he revealed that "Andor" has already been renewed for a second season.
"We're going to rewind five years back from 'Rogue,'" Gilroy explained. "And we've done 12 episodes. Those episodes that we shot that we'll show this fall are going to take us one year closer."
"We're going to come back and start shooting in November. We're going to shoot another 12 episodes," Gilroy continued, confirming Season 2 to big cheers. "And we're going to finish the second half of the story. The second 12 will take us over the next four years, and the final scene will walk you into 'Rogue.'"
The revelation was even news to Luna, who was surprised to learn about the renewal. Luna added that it's been "amazing" to revisit the character of Cassian Andor, and joked that he likes the gig because there's no way his character can be killed off on the show, given that he survives until the end of "Rogue One."
The first two episodes of "Andor" premiere on August 31, 2022. Season 2 doesn't yet have a release date, but at this point it's great news that there will be one.