Man, Disney really is flexing their muscles with their streaming service, which is now known as Disney+. If you thought they were going all out with the series of Marvel shows they've already revealed, the slate of Star Wars projects is shaping up to be pretty sweet, too. Disney's Bob Iger revealed to shareholders today that a prequel series was in the works centering on Cassian Andor, the Rebel pilot and intelligence officer played by Diego Luna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Luna will reprise the role of Andor in the live-action series, which is being described as a "rousing spy thriller" in the official press release:
Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced today that Lucasfilm is in development on a second Star Wars live-action series for Disney+, the Company’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service. The series, which will go into production next year, follows the adventures of rebel spy Cassian Andor during the formative years of the Rebellion and prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Diego Luna will reprise the role of Andor. “Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me,” said Luna. “I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey. We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.”
The rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire. A release date for the series has not yet been announced.
The Cassian Andor series will follow the previously-announced The Mandalorian, from Iron Man director Jon Favreau. In Gareth Edwards' Rogue One, Cassian revealed that he had been fighting in the Rebellion since he was six years old. He's fiercely loyal to it, and was assigned to kill Imperial scientist Galen Erso even though he was the father of his colleague, Jyn Erso. Like everybody else in Rogue One, Cassian died successfully retrieving the plans to destroy the first Death Star.
But since when has death meant anything? The solution to that is to simply do a prequel, and frankly I'm happy Cassian is coming back. Hopefully this means other members of the team can return? K2SO, please? It's also worth noting that while Lucasfilm's big screen spinoffs are "on hold", they are announcing more TV shows than ever. Perhaps that is where all of those ideas are going?
As for when this Cassian Andor series can get rolling, it appears Luna has to finish up his comments to Narcos first.
Hate losing a scoop to an earnings call. Little context, Diego has to shoot another season of NARCOS first before CASSIAN, so will be a little bit before we see this series— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) November 8, 2018
