| Andor | |
|---|---|
| File:Star Wars - Andor official logo.jpg | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Tony Gilroy |
| Based on | Star Wars by George Lucas |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Nicholas Britell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production locations | London, England |
| Cinematography | |
| Production company | Lucasfilm |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disney+ |
Andor is an upcoming American television series created by Tony Gilroy for the streaming service Disney+. It is a prequel to the Star Wars film Rogue One (2016), following the character Cassian Andor during the five years before the events of the film.
Diego Luna executive produces and reprises his Rogue One role as Cassian Andor. Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O'Reilly also star. Lucasfilm announced a series focused on Andor in November 2018, with Luna attached and Stephen Schiff hired as showrunner. Schiff was replaced by Rogue One co-writer Gilroy as creator and showrunner in April 2020. Filming began at the end of November 2020, with Gilroy unable to direct as planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming took place at Pinewood Studios in London, and on location around the United Kingdom, and wrapped by September 2021.
The first 12-episode season of Andor is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on August 31, 2022, with its first two episodes. The rest of the season will be released weekly. A second 12-episode season is in development and will conclude the series.
Beginning five years before the events of the film Rogue One (2016), the series follows an ensemble cast of characters during the time that a Rebel Alliance is forming in opposition to the Galactic Empire. One of these characters is Cassian Andor, a thief who becomes a revolutionary and eventually joins the Rebellion.[1][2]
Additionally, Forest Whitaker reprises his role as Saw Gerrera, a veteran of the Clone Wars and the leader of a militant insurgent group.[6] Robert Emms and David Hayman have been cast in undisclosed supporting roles.[7][8]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBA | Toby Haynes[9] | Tony Gilroy[10] | August 31, 2022[11] |
| 2 | TBA | Toby Haynes[9] | Tony Gilroy[12] | August 31, 2022[11] |
| 3 | TBA | Toby Haynes[9] | Tony Gilroy[12] | TBA |
Ben Caron and Susanna White are also directing episodes.[13]
Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in November 2017 that Disney and Lucasfilm were developing a live-action Star Wars television series for the new streaming service Disney+.[14] In February 2018, he clarified that there were several series in development,[15] and one was revealed that November to be a prequel to the film Rogue One (2016). It was described as a spy thriller focused on the character Cassian Andor, with Diego Luna reprising his role from the film. Production was expected to begin in 2019 after Luna completed filming the second season of Narcos: Mexico.[16] Jared Bush originally developed the series, writing a pilot script and series bible for the project.[17]
By the end of November 2018, Stephen Schiff was serving as showrunner and executive producer of the series.[17] Tony Gilroy, who was credited as a co-writer on Rogue One and oversaw extensive reshoots for the film,[10] joined the series by early 2019 when he discussed the first story details with Luna.[1] In July, Rick Famuyiwa was in early talks to direct several episodes after doing the same for the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian.[18] Gilroy's involvement was revealed that October, when he was set to write the first episode, direct multiple episodes, and work alongside Schiff;[10] Gilroy had officially replaced Schiff as showrunner by April 2020.[3] Six weeks of pre-production for the series had taken place in the United Kingdom by then, but this was halted and production on the series delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19][20] Pre-production had begun again by September ahead of a planned filming start the next month. At that time, Gilroy, who is based in New York, chose not to travel to the UK for production on the series due to the pandemic, and was therefore unable to direct the series' first episode. Instead, the UK-based Toby Haynes, who was already "high on the list" of potential directors for the series, was hired to direct the first three episodes. Gilroy would remain executive producer and showrunner.[9] Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced the series' title, Andor, in December 2020, along with its 2022 release date. Luna was revealed to be executive producing the series, which was set to consist of 12 episodes.[5][21] In February 2021, Ben Caron and Susanna White were set as additional directors.[13]
In February 2022, star Stellan Skarsgård revealed that filming for a second season was set to begin in late 2022.[22] That April, cinematographer Adriano Goldman said there had originally been plans for the series to last five seasons, but he believed those had changed and it was now expected to last three.[23] At Star Wars Celebration a month later, Lucasfilm confirmed a 12-episode second season.[24] Gilroy explained that the original five-season plan was deemed to be "physically impossible" due to the series' scale,[25] and instead they realized that they could end the series with one more season that led directly into the events of Rogue One.[24][25][26]
In addition to Gilroy and Schiff, writers for the series include Beau Willimon and Gilroy's brother Dan.[3][12] Gilroy wanted the series to be accessible to all viewers, not just Star Wars fans, with the hope that those fans would be able to watch the series with their friends and family who are not interested in the rest of the franchise.[2] Luna expressed his excitement at being able to explore the character of Andor further in the series after the bittersweet experience of making Rogue One, in which the character dies.[21] Since Andor is a prequel to the film, Luna said it was "nice to go into a story you already know the ending. Now you can take the nuances and the layers. I think it's fun to do something that isn't just about getting to the end. It's about delaying that."[27] Luna was able to suggest elements of the character's backstory that he had thought of during the filming of Rogue One,[2] and was grateful that Gilroy made the character a refugee.[1] He explained, "It's the journey of a migrant, which to me is everything I come from. That feeling of having to move is behind this story very profoundly".[2]
The first season begins five years before Rogue One and tells one year of Andor's story when he first becomes a revolutionary. The next four years are then covered by the second season, which leads directly into the events of the film.[26][2] Gilroy approached the two seasons as two halves of a novel.[2] Luna said the series was about the building of a revolution,[21] and said it was important to explore "the revolutionary we can become to change things, to stop war, to make this world a livable place" which he felt was relevant to real-world issues.[2] Gilroy stated, "This guy gave his life for the galaxy, right? I mean, he consciously, soberly, without vanity or recognition, sacrificed himself. Who does that?" He wanted to explore that idea in the first season, beginning with Andor "being really revolution-averse, and cynical, and lost, and kind of a mess". The season shows the destruction of Andor's homeworld when he was a boy, and then is based on Andor's adopted planet which becomes radicalized against the Empire.[1] After starting with Andor's story in the first three episodes, the fourth begins to expand the scope of the series to include the rest of its large ensemble cast, such as Rebel leader Mon Mothma whose path will cross with Andor's in the second season. Gilroy felt Star Wars fans would see Mothma in a new light after watching the series, and added that there were key characters and events in the series that would be different or "more interesting" than fans previously realized: "What you've been told, what's on Wookieepedia... is really all wrong".[2]
Luke Hull served as production designer on the series,[28] and described it as "very cinematic".[21] Neal Scanlan provided the creature and droid effects after doing the same for all of Disney's Star Wars films, including Rogue One.[29] He said his team was treating the series the same as they did the films,[21] and due to Gilroy's involvement the series would fit within the same "pocket of [Star Wars] history" as Rogue One with a "slightly harder edge" than other Star Wars projects.[29] Scanlan added that unused creatures developed for the films could be brought back for the series,[30] alongside newly created creatures.[21]
Diego Luna was confirmed to be reprising his role as Cassian Andor from Rogue One with the series' announcement in November 2018.[16] In April 2019, Alan Tudyk was announced as also reprising his Rogue One role of K-2SO.[31] A year later, Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller, Genevieve O'Reilly, and Denise Gough joined the cast. O'Reilly reprises her role of Mon Mothma from Rogue One and other Star Wars media.[32][3] Adria Arjona joined the cast in August 2020,[4] and Fiona Shaw was revealed to also be appearing in December,[5] when Tudyk was not included in an official cast list. A month later, Tudyk confirmed that he would no longer be appearing in the first season due to Gilroy's story changes but he could appear in potential future seasons.[33] Robert Emms was cast in a supporting role in June 2021,[7] when Skarsgård revealed that Forest Whitaker was reprising his role as Saw Gerrera from Rogue One.[6] In February 2022, David Hayman confirmed that he had a role in the series after being spotted by fans during filming.[8] The first season has over 200 named cast members and over 6,000 extras.[21]
Filming began in London, England, at the end of November 2020,[27][34] with the production based at Pinewood Studios.[35][36] The series was filmed under the working title Pilgrim,[35] and was the first live-action Star Wars series to not make use of the StageCraft digital background technology. This was done because the scripts were more suited to being filmed on locations and large sets, and Luna noted that taking a different filming approach for the series made it similar to Rogue One which also had a different filming style to the other Star Wars films.[37] Toby Haynes directed the first three episodes,[9] with Ben Caron and Susanna White also directing.[13] Jonathan Freeman and Adriano Goldman served as cinematographers.[38][23] The series was previously reported to be beginning filming in 2019,[16] and then June 2020,[38] but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] Both UK and U.S. COVID-19 protocols were followed on set, including daily temperature checks and tests for COVID-19 three times a week.[36] Filming at Pinewood Studios was expected to end in July 2021.[36]
By late January 2021, a large village set had been built on the grounds of a former quarry in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, not far from Pinewood Studios. Filming was expected to take place there until April.[39] Filming in April also took place at the Coryton Refinery in Corringham, Essex.[40] Several days of filming happened in Cleveleys on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire in early May, with the town's promenade and beach area dressed as an alien location,[35] followed by another several days filming in the disused Winspit quarry in Dorset.[41][42] Second unit and location filming began for at least a week at the end of May in Black Park, a country park in Buckinghamshire near Pinewood Studios which was also used for filming Disney's Star Wars films.[43][44] By the end of May, main production on Pilgrim had moved to Glen Tilt in Perthshire, Scotland, and was expected to continue there until late June.[45][46] Around 500 crewmembers travelled to Oban, Scotland, for filming at the nearby Cruachan Dam. This started by June 18, with sets built around the dam and filming also happening in its tunnels.[8][47] From June 22 to 24, filming took place at Middle Peak Quarry near Wirksworth, Derbyshire.[48][49] Production was expected to wrap in mid-2021,[7] and Luna confirmed that it had finished by September 27.[50]
The second season is scheduled to begin filming in November 2022.[24]
Gilroy contacted Nicholas Britell about composing for the series in 2020, before filming began so he could compose source music that would be played on set. Gilroy and Britell, who are neighbors in Manhattan, first met for the project in August 2020. Kennedy and Gilroy wanted the series to have a unique sound, and Britell said it would be "orchestral-plus" with a "wide range of sounds" including some that he had created. He added that the large scope of the series meant that "every episode has new demands, new music, and new ideas. It's important that as the story evolves, the music should evolve too."[51] Britell was publicly revealed to be the series' composer in February 2022,[52] and was still working on it that May when he said they had been "working nonstop for months, actually years, at this point". Recording was underway by then at AIR Lyndhurst studios in London, with a full orchestra. Britell was unable to travel to London due to the pandemic, but had a team in place there that also worked with him on other television series.[51]
A sizzle reel featuring behind-the-scenes footage of pre-production and filming was released during Disney's Investors Day presentation in December 2020, when the series' title and cast was officially announced by Kennedy.[5][21] Gilroy, Luna, and O'Reilly promoted the series at Star Wars Celebration in May 2022 where they revealed the first teaser trailer.[26][24] It was also released online, and The Hollywood Reporter's Aaron Couch said it showed the "gritty side" of the Star Wars universe.[11] Daniel Chin of The Ringer felt the series had a unique identity in the Star Wars franchise, with a darker tone, and said the teaser "paints a picture of the formative years of the rebellion against the Empire".[53] Ryan Scott from /Film felt the teaser gave the "most comprehensive view at the show up to this point". He said the series could explore the morality behind the Rebels, writing that while they are usually seen as heroes there is also "much gray area in there to be explored".[54] Writing for CNET, Sean Keane felt the trailer did not give much away but gave an "intriguing taste of the show's espionage tone".[55]
The series is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on August 31, 2022, with its first two episodes. The rest of the 12-episode first season will be released weekly.[24] The series was previously expected to debut in 2021,[56] before production was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]
