As he reprises pilot Cassian Andor, Luna also discusses the series’ wider scope. 

With Andor, the Rogue One prequel series landing at the end of August, two of its stars have talked about the show with Entertainment Weekly.

Andor will follow the story of Cassian Andor as he becomes involved in the rebellion. The show plays out across five years prior to the events of the movie, which itself dovetails into Star Wars. It’s been created by writer Tony Gilroy who worked on Rogue One.

The interview, on EW’s Dagobah Despatch podcast, features Diego Luna and Genevieve O’Reilly, as well as executive producer Sanne Wohlenberg (Doctor Who, Black Mirror).

First up, Luna talks about originally playing the role in Rogue One:

“I remember living every day as if it was the last. I mean, I never thought of being part of this universe at all. I was just a fan, and one day I got a call. I thought it was going to be a one-time thing in my life, and I shared it with my kids, and I saw it. I was ready to move on.”

But explains he jumped at the change to reprise his character:

“And then I was invited to [return for the show], and it made complete sense. I had so much more to say and do with this role. I just wanted to explore many things that I thought about while I was shooting that a film would never allow you to explore.”

Mon Mothma

Meanwhile, Genevieve O’Reilly suggests we’ll learn much more about the rebel leader Mon Mothma.

First seen in Return of the Jedi, O’Reilly has played her younger incarnation since Revenge of the Sith. Subsequently, the character has appeared in both Rogue One and on Star Wars Rebels, but remains somewhat of an enigma.

“The idea of learning about this character — for me, as much as for anyone else — through a long-form narrative was really interesting. We have now the chance to get to know the woman. Previously, she was a bit of a pillar, or maybe a statue. I love that now we get to excavate that a little bit and learn about the human being — the woman behind the gown, if you will.”

Joining Luna and O’Reilly in the cast are Adria Arjona, Robert Emms, Denise Gough, Fiona Shaw and Stellan Skarsgård.

With Disney+ launching Andor on August 31st, plus a second series in production, we expect the show to dominate the Star Wars narrative for a while. We’ll keep you posted.