We have good news for fans of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the 12-part prequel series Andor now has an official Disney Plus release date – and it isn’t too far off!
Andor tells the origin story of rebel fighter Cassian Andor, first seen in the film Rogue One, and played by Diego Luna.
So far, plot details for Andor have been scarce, but Disney released a teaser trailer at its Star Wars celebration event on 26th May 2022 as well as confirming the season will be 12 episodes long – much longer than a typical Star Wars show – and that it will unfold five years before the events of Rogue One.
Watch the brand-new teaser trailer for #Andor, streaming August 31 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/gkKHizDG4G
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 26, 2022
“You’re not going to recognise Cassian Andor in the beginning,” Luna said during the panel.
What’s more, Andor is expanding its initial first season 12-episode run to 24 episodes with a second season, which will kick off filming in November 2022.
ANDOR: Tony Gilroy says they shot 12 episodes for the 1st season, which takes place 5 years before the events in ROGUE ONE. This fall, he & Lucasfilm will shoot season 2 (another 12), which will unspool the next 4 years. The final scene is designed to lead right into ROGUE ONE.
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) May 26, 2022
Fans will also pleased to hear that Forest Whitaker is reprising his role as rebel fighter Saw Gerrera, one of the first Star Wars characters to jump from animation to live-action following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm.
So, without further ado, read on for all your essential information on Disney Plus series Cassian Andor.
Andor release date on Disney Plus
There’s isn’t too long to wait!
The Cassian Andor series will land on Disney Plus on 31st August 2022, hot on the heels of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Episodes are expected to drop weekly each Wednesday.
#Andor, an Original limited series, is streaming August 31 on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/mfrfbdbl7Y
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) May 26, 2022
Filming on the series wrapped in September 2021 after kicking off in November 2020.
In December 2020, it was confirmed that Andor will consist of 12 episodes in total, making it substantially longer than a single season of The Mandalorian (eight episodes) or fellow Disney Plus original WandaVision (nine episodes).
“I think the format of a series is amazing because we have a lot of time to explore all those layers. What happens in Rogue One is something we can actually reflect on,” Luna told The Hollywood Reporter.
Andor cast
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Diego Luna returns as “charismatic Rebel leader” Cassian Andor, who played a central role in the plan to steal the Death Star schematics in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Stellan Skarsgard, Kyle Soller and Denise Gough have also joined the show’s cast in unknown roles. While Skarsgard is famous for his roles in Chernobyl and Marvel’s Thor movies (as Dr Erik Selvig), Soller is best known for playing Francis in BBC period drama Poldark, and Gough appeared in ITV’s 2021 drama Too Close.
The most recent addition to the cast is Adria Arjona, known for her roles in BBC Two’s Good Omens as well as Netflix action films 6 Underground and Triple Frontier, who will be portraying Cassian Andor’s sister.
Forest Whitaker and Genevieve O’Reilly will be returning in their rebel roles as Saw Gerrera and Mon Mothma respectively, but one major cast member from Rogue One will be notable only by his absence.
In June 2021, Chernobyl and His Dark Materials star Robert Emms was announced to be joining the project (via Deadline) in a supporting role, but there’s no word yet on exactly who he’s playing.
Alan Tudyk has debunked theories that he will co-star in Andor opposite Luna, telling Collider in a recent interview that he will not feature in the first season – but could well crop up further down the line.
“They’re shooting it right now, I’m not in it,” Tudyk said. “But, if it stays on the air, stories keep getting told, I’ll end up in there.”
He continued: “I’m going to be in the show. It’s just that the story that Tony [Gilroy] is telling doesn’t involve K-2SO until later on… I can’t be too specific, but I can definitely say that I’m not going to be in the first season.”
It’s currently unknown who else will star in the series, though it’s certainly possible that Rogue One actors Alistair Petrie, Ian McElhinney and Ben Daniels could be enticed back depending on the format of the drama.
Tony Gilroy – who directed reshoots and rewrote large parts of Rogue One ahead of its release in 2016 – is set to work as showrunner, replacing Stephen Schiff in the top job.
What is Andor about?
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The official description reads: “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.”
LucasFilm previously described the new prequel as “a new spy series inspired by Rogue One”.
The casting of Adria Arjona as Andor’s sister suggests we’ll get a deeper insight into his family and upbringing over the course of the series.
However, it appears that we won’t be seeing a return for the playful dynamic between Cassian and K-2SO, as actor Alan Tudyk has confirmed he will not appear in the first season – but could join the show at a later date.
He told Collider: “I do know this: I have to be on stilts for it, because the character is 7’1”, and I’m not one of those guys that says, ‘somebody else do the motion capture, and I’ll voice it later’.
“I’ll have to do the motion capture, and I turn 50 in March. So I hope they get to it soon, because I’m not going to be on stilts in, like, five years. I’m not doing it!”
Luna has promised fans that the scale is just as epic as it would be in a big screen project and we have no reason to doubt him, given the blockbuster feel of fellow Disney Plus original The Mandalorian.
“The way we’re shooting this reminds me of how we shot the film, and the amount of work behind this TV series reminds me of the work you do for a film. It feels like we’re doing a very long movie,” he added.
Andor trailer
In December, fans were treated to their first look at the new show, with the release of a sizzle reel – which you can watch in full below.
It includes clips from Rogue One, and interviews with those both behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera.
Another trailer dropped in May 2022, and it’s every bit as dark as Rogue One.
The clip shows the might of the Empire at its height, as well as the beginnings of the Rebellion that altered the course of the Star Wars universe. The terror is palpable.
Watch below:
What happened in Rogue One?
In this 2016 prequel film, set shortly before the events of original 1977 Star Wars movie A New Hope, Andor and K-2SO team up with miscreant Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) for a covert mission, learning that her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) had designed a flaw into the Death Star space station that the Rebels could use to blow it up (which Luke Skywalker did in the original Star Wars film).
Picking up other team members from occupied planet Jedha (most of which was later destroyed by the nascent Death Star), the team eventually find themselves on an Imperial weapons development station on the planet Scarif, where Jyn, Cassian and K-2SO manage to steal the Death Star plans and transmit them to the Rebel fleet while their friends attack for a distraction.
Unfortunately, K-2SO and the other Rebels almost all die in battle, while Jyn and Cassian end up perishing when the Death Star destroys the Scarif base. In the film’s final moments, the plans are transferred to Princess Leia’s (Carrie Fisher) ship, tying the film into A New Hope’s opening moments.
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