Diego Luna Anxious to Reprise the Star Wars Role of Cassian Andor on Disney+
There are not many times when I am VERY jealous of a reporter. For the most part, I am pretty content with the time I spent on the road and, sure, I have my goals, but getting to write about Disney/Star Wars every day was one of them.
However, IndieWire’s Eric Kohn recently got to speak to Rogue One’s Diego Luna — yes, Cassian Andor himself — via Instagram. The VERY honest Luna, an auteur of sorts in front of the camera, let rip with thoughts about life, the loves of that life, and, of course, Star Wars.
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Contact: The Most Human Instinct
You see, Luna’s children have recently recovered from COVID-19 and are home. Diego admitted to being happy but having gone through a serious soul search as he watched his kids become ill and be quarantined.
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ALAN TUDYK, DIEGO LUNA
“I think this virus is hitting in the deepest and more personal and intimate way possible,” said Luna, who explained there were three weeks where he was unable to hug his children. “In the end, I think it just confronts you with what you’ve done, right and wrong, you know? What you have around. What you’ve generated. What we are.
“It’s hitting the most human instinct,” he added. “Contact.”
Happy to Return to Star Wars
In times like these, it seems trite to find solace in a fantasy film about sacrifice. But that’s what art — even pop art — does.
Case in point, for many people in the aftermath of the November 2016 elections Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s depiction of selfishness turned rebellion turned sacrifice hit on an important theme. And, by the time Jyn Erso and Luna’s Cassian embrace at the end of the flick, the final contact between the two warriors, reminds us — ultimately — what the Rebel Alliance was fighting for in the remainder of the Saga and what was lost in that fight.
Now, after two years of filming Narcos: Mexico, and four years after Rogue One bowed, the actor told IndieWire that he’s happy to return to that fight in a galaxy far, far away.
Luna said he was eager to reprise the role because he felt the most freedom ever in his career as an actor while filming “Rogue One.” The actor credits the practical sets as creating a tangible fantasy world he loved getting lost in and playing around in. “Rogue One” ended with Cassian’s death during the climactic Battle of Scarif. For Luna, it’s the challenge this ending creates for his Cassian television show that is making him the most excited to return to “Star Wars.”
“I can’t really talk about it. The thing I can tell you, and it’s a nice challenge and it’s a great way to approach a show, but what happens when you already know the ending?” Luna said. “Then it becomes about the story. Everything is in how you tell the story and how many different layers you can find. This can’t be a show now where at the end we surprise you with like, ‘Oh no it wasn’t him!’ We’ve already seen the ending.”
Luna continued, “If you think about it, ‘Rogue One’ started with the same task. The last scene of ‘Rogue One’ is a scene we all know. It makes another part of your brain work [as a storyteller]. You can’t use the same formulas for storytelling you’ve known all your life with this because it’s very different. The big thing is now we start with a character that people already know what he’s capable of.”
What Exactly is Cassian Capable Of?
What exactly is that character capable of?
Well, we’ve seen hints but we actually don’t know the whole of Cassian Andor. However, what we do know is that the crawl to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) states, “There are heroes on both sides.”
And Wookieepedia’s character synopsis of Andor gives hints that he might actually be one of the heroes on the Separatist side:
Cassian Jeron Andor was a human male who was born on the planet Fest in 26 BBY to a human father and unknown mother. During the Clone Wars, Andor joined an insurrectionist cell backed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems that operated in the wilds of the Outer Rim Territories and fought against the Galactic Republic. Andor saw his first combat experience in this cell as a child soldier in 20 BBY by tossing rocks and bottles at Republic walkers and clone troopers. Sometime during the Clone Wars, when Andor was still young,[4] Andor’s father was killed at the Carida Academy during a protest against the expansion of Republic militarism.
What might we learn about Andor when the series hits the small screen via Disney+ is anyone’s guess.
However, with Luna back in Star Wars chances are good that it’s going to be great.
Need Some More Star Wars Talk?
Check out my chat with Brick City Blockade’s Robin Vogt! This week we talked about Mark Hamill’s “goodbye tweet” and Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World.
