Why ‘Andor’ Appealed to Diego Luna: “It’s the Journey of a Migrant”

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s Cassian Andor is coming back to us all in a big way. Star Diego Luna was a beacon of joy during the press tour for his first outing in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but now we’re getting to know a more about his return to the role for the Disney+ series Andor.

As part of the large Star Wars cover story for Vanity Fair’s June issue, star Diego Luna talked a bit about what to expect from Andor and where the story will take the character before we met Cassian in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While Luna makes it clear that he loves Star Wars, it’s also nice to know that what brought him back as Cassian was the unique story he was pitched for the character.

Luna describes Andor as a refugee story. He revealed to Vanity Fair that it has people fleeing the Empire, and that having this aspect that resonated with him personally was important to him. “It’s the journey of a migrant,” he said. “That feeling of having to move is behind this story, very profoundly and very strong. That shapes you as a person. It defines you in many ways, and what you are willing to do.”

Showrunner Tony Gilroy went on to talk about more of what to expect out of the series. “This guy gave his life for the galaxy, right? I mean, he consciously, soberly, without vanity or recognition, sacrificed himself. Who does that?” Gilroy said. “That’s what this first season is about. It’s about him being really revolution-averse, and cynical, and lost, and kind of a mess.”

According to Vanity Fair, the story in Andor will give us a glimpse into the world where Cassian was born, the destruction of it, and then follow the character into his adulthood on the run, until he realizes he can’t just keep running. “His adopted home will become the base of our whole first season, and we watch that place become radicalized,” Gilroy went on to say. “Then we see another planet that’s completely taken apart in a colonial kind of way. The Empire is expanding rapidly. They’re wiping out anybody who’s in their way.”

Why Cassian works

I came out of Rogue One as a Cassian Andor fan. You’d think that’d be strange, and yet I have three different Funkos of the character and I just wanted to know more about him. So Andor, for me, is an especially important story because I want to know more about Cassian as a whole. He’s also making history by joining Pedro Pascal and Rosario Dawson as leads for the Disney+ Star Wars franchise.

This plus getting to learn more about a character that instantly captivated fans is why Cassian, as a character, is so important and why Andor is easily my next highly anticipated series. Cassian Andor clearly has been through a lot, and having his story be a “migrant” one or a refugee story, as Luna said, gives such an insight into Cassian as a character, and I can’t wait to see what Gilroy and Luna have in store for us.

(featured image: Lucasfilm)