Andor, known on the Disney+ platform as Star Wars: Andor, and distinguished as Andor: A Star Wars Story for its upcoming second season, is an American television program brought to life by Lucasfilm. Currently, it's available for viewing on Disney's digital streaming platform. This program is a spy thriller featuring Diego Luna, who is back in his role as Cassian Andor from the motion picture, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The initial season was first broadcast in September of 2022, and the second season is scheduled to be released on April 22, 2025, accompanied by a redesigned logo.
Andor will delve into a fresh viewpoint within the Star Wars universe, placing emphasis on Cassian Andor's personal quest to realize the impact he is capable of achieving. The show presents the narrative of the emerging rebellion against the Empire and the ways in which individuals and planets become entangled in the conflict. This era is characterized by peril, deceit, and complex schemes, setting the stage for Cassian's transformation into a celebrated rebel figure.
Discussions about a television show centered around Cassian Jeron Andor, the character portrayed by Diego Luna in the 2016 Star Wars Anthology movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, commenced even before the film's theatrical release, although Luna himself was unsure of its realization. In February of 2018, Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, announced that "several" live-action Star Wars series were being created for Disney's streaming platform. Iger formally announced the show during a Disney earnings report on November 8, 2018.
On November 30, news surfaced that Stephen Schiff, an executive producer from The Americans, would be the showrunner, while Jared Bush, a writer for Moana, was credited with the project's inception, having authored a pilot episode and a series bible. According to Production Weekly, the series was initially slated to commence production in October of 2019. On July 11, 2019, reports indicated that Rick Famuyiwa was in discussions to direct a number of episodes, with the commencement of filming planned for October 7. On October 15, 2019, Variety reported that Tony Gilroy, a co-writer of Rogue One, would be penning the pilot episode and directing several episodes.
On December 3, 2020, Diego Luna verified that filming for the series was underway in London. The title Andor, along with behind-the-scenes footage, was presented on December 10, 2020, during a Disney investor conference. The commencement of filming occurred in late November of 2020. Although Alan Tudyk was initially slated to portray K-2SO in the series, he later clarified in January of 2021 that, despite the ongoing production, he would not be featured in the first season. However, he anticipated being included in subsequent seasons.
The production team favored using real-world locations, with filming taking place at Pinewood Studios and on various sites. One scene was filmed in Pitlochry, Scotland, and exterior shots for the Aldhani dam were also captured in Scotland, at the Cruachan pumped storage hydro plant. The creation of Ferrix was a costly endeavor. Gilroy mentioned its "mental built" required two years. Filming concluded in September 2021.
Due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, Gilroy suspended all work on Andor and did not return to the set. Shortly before the UK shoot for season two was set to wrap, Deadline Hollywood published an article stating that filming for season two would be put on hold because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA actors strike. However, the article later clarified that, according to Deadline's sources, filming was still happening at Pinewood Studios, but without actors who were members of SAG-AFTRA. American SAG-AFTRA actors had stopped working in accordance with the strike, while members of the British Equity union continued. The report indicated that Equity members were warned of possible legal consequences if they stopped working to support the American union.
In December 2023, Kathryn Hunter confirmed her return as Eedy Karn in season two and shared behind-the-scenes images on her Instagram, which she later removed. Andor was absent from Disney+'s 2024 release schedule that was revealed to the public in December 2023. In an interview with IO9, Stellan Skarsgård, a star of Andor, expressed his satisfaction with the show's ending and praised Gilroy's writing. In a February 2024 interview with GamesRadar+, Skarsgård predicted that season two would be released in late 2024 or early 2025.
On May 26, 2022, Lucasfilm unveiled a teaser trailer for the Andor series at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022. The studio also announced that the series would debut with two episodes on Disney+ on August 31, 2022.
On August 1, Lucasfilm released an official trailer and announced that the release date had been rescheduled to September 21, 2022, with a premiere of three episodes.
On March 5th, 2024, it was announced that the first season of Andor is scheduled for release on April 30th, 2024, in 4K UHD and Blu-ray formats, packaged in SteelBook cases. The release will include bonus materials such as original box artwork by Attila Szarka, concept art cards, and previously unreleased featurettes.