The upcoming prequel TV series Star Wars: Andor has been filming in the UK since November. Fans got a taste of the behind-the-scenes production in a sizzle reel that was shown during Disney's investor day last year, but now some new aerial photos of the UK set give fans a glimpse of the sheer scale of the show.
Andor is a prequel series set five years before the events of the spin-off film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It follows rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), who was first introduced in Rogue One as one of the rebels who was instrumental in obtaining the Death Star plans used to destroy the station in the original Star Wars trilogy. Sadly, Cassian Andor was one of the many casualties of that film, vaporized by the Death Star's devastating blast on the beaches of Scariff alongside fellow Rebel Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), hence the need for the show to be a prequel.
When Andor was first announced, many fans were surprised. While Disney and Lucasfilm have made it clear they will be pursuing more Star Wars TV shows, especially after the success of The Mandalorian, few expected a series following such a brief and minor character. While little is known about the plot, Andor has been described as a spy thriller, and Disney and Lucasfilm must have a lot of confidence in the show because as we can see from the set photos released by the Daily Mail, they've sunk a lot of time and money into the project.
In the Andor set photos, we can see a huge crowd of people, likely a mixture of actors, background extras, and crew, lining the streets of what looks like a city or town. It's hard to make out who's who, but there are definitely some stormtroopers in the mix. The set looks very Star Wars and is reminiscent of the streets of Mos Eisley, with buildings that look similar to the ones seen on Naboo. The series reportedly has over 200 named cast members and over 6000 extras, and the first season will consist of 12 episodes. Production on Andor has been delayed several times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with its initial 2021 release date being pushed back to 2022.
The series is created by Rogue One co-writer Tony Gilroy, who oversaw extensive reshoots on the Star Wars spin-off, with Luna reprising his role as Cassian Andor. The cast also includes Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller, Genevieve O'Reilly, Denise Gough, and Fiona Shaw. At one point Alan Tudyk was confirmed to be reprising his role from Rogue One as K-2SO, a reprogrammed Imperial droid with a serious attitude. However, Tudyk later confirmed K-2SO would sit out Andor for the first year, but said that he could potentially show up in future seasons. This may indicate that future seasons of Andor are already being planned, but so far nothing is confirmed.
Star Wars: Andor will premiere exclusively on Disney Plus in 2022.
Source: Daily Mail UK