Years after starring in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Diego Luna unexpectedly makes a return to the Star Wars universe in the franchise’s latest series, Andor. Set as a prequel to Rogue One, the series explores the events in Cassian Andor’s (Luna) life that ultimately led to him becoming a Rebel hero.
So far, Andor has received a lot of praise from both critics and fans alike. And Rogue One director Tony Gilroy also serves as the series showrunner, for Luna, reprising his role after so long was as surreal as it could get.
Following The Events Of Rogue One, Diego Luna Thought Star Wars Was Done With Him
With Cassian sacrificing his life towards the end of Rogue One, Luna thought there was no chance of being asked to return to the franchise and he made peace with that. “I let the guy go. I mourned. I even had ceremonies to talk about him,” the actor said.
Luna also thought that Rogue One was supposed to be a one-shot project anyway. “With Rogue One, we were asked to be different. We were a standalone,” he further explained.
“We were a different Star Wars story that had a beginning and an end.” And so, what happened next really took the actor by surprise.
When Diego Luna Was First Approached For Andor It Was ‘Very Vague,’ Until Tony Gilroy Called
A few years after the release of Rogue One, Disney and Lucasfilm started toying around with the idea of doing a prequel that would take place around five years before the events of the movie. And as this was the case, they reached out to Luna as soon as possible, although it didn’t seem like they got into the details much.
“They asked: ‘Would you be interested in exploring the possibility of doing something more with Andor?’” the actor recalled his phone conversation with Lucasfilm. “And I thought, well that’s very vague.”
At that time, Luna also thought doing another movie didn’t exactly make sense. However, he also thought that a series might work “because the long format would allow us to do what film would never allow you to do, which is explore the complexities of the storylines.”
That said, nothing really came of the call initially. The project only truly took shape when Gilroy agreed to serve as showrunner after Stephen Schiff exited the project. At this point, Luna got another call and this time, it was the director.
“I was stuck in traffic in Mexico City (where Luna is from) and we had this 45-minute phone call,” the actor recalled. “It was at that point that I realized this had to happen, because if it didn’t then it would be a waste of a great story.”
At First, Working On Andor Left Diego Luna With ‘A Very Weird Feeling’
Much like Ewan McGregor who was tapped to play Obi-Wan Kenobi once more recently, Luna found himself making his way back to a Star Wars set years after Rogue One. And even as he suited up for the character, it all still felt a bit unreal.
“The first day was so weird. It felt almost like a dream,” Luna recalled. “When you have a perspective that you are living the dream, but also witnessing the moment from afar and judging yourself, that’s what happened to me. I was there and not there at the same time.”
Sure, he had been involved in the development of the project, but the actor still couldn’t believe that he was back when they started filming. “I talked about it for years, literally two or three years before we started shooting, but just being there, I couldn’t believe it,” he explained.
“I’ve dreamed about the [Rogue One] experience, because it was so unique and bizarre and interesting and different to anything I’ve done before, so being back there was a very weird feeling.”
Gradually, however, Luna managed to settle back into the groove of things. “So I started enjoying it by the third or fourth day. At the beginning, it felt like the costume was either too big or too small,” the actor said. “So I guess when you think and talk too much about something, it’s hard to digest when it’s actually happening, and you have to execute and be fast.”
Meanwhile, Andor is already set to return for a second season, which would also be its last. And while this might seem too soon an end for fans, concluding the show in this manner feels just right for its lead star. “Star Wars is growing in ways that it can allow itself to have different expressions. We’re not part of a saga that doesn’t end,” Luna explained. “Our end is clear. It’s as clear as an end can be.”
At the same time, Gilroy doesn’t think that stretching Andor for too long just wouldn’t be feasible. “You just couldn’t possibly physically make five years of the show,” the director remarked. “I mean, Diego would be, like, 65. I’d be in a nursing home. We were panicked. We can’t sign on to this forever.”
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