Moviefone Editorial

Tag: rogue one

  • TV Review: ‘Andor’ Season 2

    Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in Lucasfilm's 'Andor', exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor’, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    ‘Andor’ Season 2 receives 9 out of 10 stars.

    Returning to Disney+ with the first three episodes of Season 2, ‘Star Wars’ series ‘Andor’ once more follows the struggle of the Rebel Alliance as it ramps up its conflict with the Galactic Empire as seen through the lens of rebel agent Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and an assortment of characters of both sides of the battle.

    Season 2 has an interesting release pattern –– the 12 episodes are split across four batches of three, and there is a time jump between batches, covering the four years leading up to the events of ‘Rogue One,’ moving from 4 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin, as seen in ‘Star Wars’) to the immediate events of the movie.

    Related Article: Diego Luna Talks Reprising ‘Rogue One’ Character in Disney+’s ‘Andor’

    Will ‘Andor’ Season 2 Spark Your Interest?

    (L to R, on bridge): Weapons Spec (Harry McEntire), Executive Officer (Gethin Alderman) and Captain Elk (Roger Barclay) in Lucasfilm's 'Andor', exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R, on bridge): Weapons Spec (Harry McEntire), Executive Officer (Gethin Alderman) and Captain Elk (Roger Barclay) in Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor’, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    With the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the first season of ‘Andor,’ the pressure on Season 2 is naturally huge, the expectation built further by the delay between seasons (the first run of episodes was all the way back in 2022).

    But by any real metric, the new season handily maintains the quality level of the first, bringing real stakes, incredibly layered shades of gray and genuine humanity to the galaxy far, far away.

    Still a much more mature take on the world of ‘Star Wars’ (which is to take nothing away from the entertainment value of shows such as ‘The Mandalorian’), ‘Andor’ represents top quality television.

    Script and Direction

    (L to R) Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna on the set of Lucasfilm's 'Andor', exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R) Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna on the set of Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor’, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    Tony Gilroy leads a writing team that also includes Beau Willimon and Dan Gilroy, and the assembled staff has crafted a thrilling, politically astute, emotional and superb second season.

    While it has to handle various time jumps to accommodate the sheer breadth of its storytelling, the series does so with aplomb, managing to say a lot about the personal cost of rebellion and the banal efficiency of pure evil.

    This is very far from a basic battle of good vs. bad, and if the action quotient is lower than other shows, when it does feature set pieces, they’re of similar quality.

    On the directorial front, Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz and Alonso Ruizpalacios bring the same high quality in terms of scope, scale and style to the new episodes. Largely eschewing shooting on a volume stage and bringing many locations to life practically, ‘Andor’s visuals are entirely supportive of its high quality scripts.

    Confidently recreating looks and locations we all know and love from the original ‘Star Wars’ while also introducing us to more new worlds, the lived-in feel of the galaxy is entirely present and correct.

    Cast and Performances

    (L to R) Partisan (Leonardo Taiwo) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) in Lucasfilm's 'Andor', exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R) Partisan (Leonardo Taiwo) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) in Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor’, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    Diego Luna is once more the heart and soul of the show, whether he’s on a mission, fighting for his life or spending time with Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen, figuring out how to make a relationship work with such pressure upon them both.

    Arjona is similarly great, handed an impressive PTSD storyline as Bix, still recovering from her treatment at the hands of Imperial torturers, reckons with her place in the resistance.

    Also excellent? Stellan Skarsgård, who can turn any speech into a must-watch moment and remains superb as the morally slippery Luthen Rael. And Genevieve O’Reilly, while largely siloed in her own storyline, walks the line of political glad-handing and rebellious plotting without missing a beat.

    (L to R) Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), Leida Mothma (Bronte Carmichael) and Perrin Fertha (Alastair Mackenzie) in Lucasfilm's 'Andor', exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R) Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), Leida Mothma (Bronte Carmichael) and Perrin Fertha (Alastair Mackenzie) in Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor’, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    And we’d be remiss if we didn’t praise the contributions of Alan Tudyk, who once more brings the world’s snarkiest droid to life with a combination of performance capture and the most endlessly frustrated attitude this side of ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide’s Marvin the Paranoid Android.

    His buddy comedy chemistry with Luna is as great as ever, and he’s got a great line in putdowns.

    Also? Ben Mendelsohn sweeps in and steal scenes as Orson Krennic, the hissable, cape-happy villain of ‘Rogue One,’ here an even more petty bureaucrat dedicated to getting the Death Star finished.

    Final Thoughts

    (L to R) Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) in Lucasfilm's 'Andor', exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R) Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) in Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor’, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    Some sequels feel unearned, but ‘Andor’s new run absolutely matches the sterling quality of the first and, even, in a few places, surpassing it. There might not be anything quite as memorable as the prison storyline from the original season, but it’s all still truly impressive.

    Our only other gripe? Not enough of sarcastic reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2SO, but that’s just a personal bugbear.

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    What’s the plot of ‘Andor’ Season 2?

    The second season takes place as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance.

    Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.

    ‘Andor’ sets the clock back five years from the events of 2016’s ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ to tell the story of the film’s hero and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.

    Who stars in ‘Andor’ Season 2?

    (L to R) Corv (Noof Ousellam), Lieutenant Keysax (Nick Moss), Supervisor Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Captain Vanis Tigo (Wilf Scolding) in Lucasfilm's 'Andor', exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R) Corv (Noof Ousellam), Lieutenant Keysax (Nick Moss), Supervisor Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Captain Vanis Tigo (Wilf Scolding) in Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor’, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    List of ‘Star Wars’ Movies and TV Shows:

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  • New Trailer for ‘Andor’

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    Does knowing the fate of a character diminish our enjoyment of learning about their earlier days?

    It’s the challenge that many prequels face, but the team behind new ‘Star Wars’ Disney+ series ‘Andor’ will be hoping that filling in the details of Diego Luna’s rebel spy and fighter Cassian Andor’s life before ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ adds layers to his character.

    Even if we do know that – spoiler alert for anyone who might not have seen ‘Rogue One’ – he’s fated to die in the mission to steal the Death Star plans.

    'Andor' will premiere on Disney+ September 21st.
    ‘Andor’ will premiere on Disney+ September 21st.

    ‘Andor’ turns back the clock to his younger days, living on a planet where the bite of the Empire is really being felt. It’ll show how he is recruited to fight alongside the growing rebellion.

    Created by Tony Gilroy (who was brought in to oversee re-writes and re-shoots on ‘Rogue One’), the show also stars returning ‘Rogue’ cast members Genevieve O’Reilly (as Mon Mothma) and Forest Whitaker (as Saw Gerrera) plus Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller and Fiona Shaw.

    ‘Succession’ composer Nicholas Britell provides the music, while Gilroy directs several episodes alongside Ben Caron, Toby Haynes and Susanna White.

    Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) in Lucasfilm's 'Andor,' exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) in Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor,’ exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    “It’s quite unique, because we know what Cassian is capable of, but we’re going to meet him when he doesn’t know he’s capable of that,” Luna said during a ‘Good Morning America’ appearance to present the new promo. “We’re going to meet him when life is tough, it’s a very dark and interesting life because it’s just a regular guy that suddenly has to become part of something bigger, has to become part of a community that rises. It’s the beginning of the origins of a revolution, and it’s a beautiful story because it reminds us what we are capable of, what we are all capable of. There’s no Jedis around — it’s people having to take control.”

    And, somewhat remarkably for the current run of ‘Star Wars’ shows, the series eschewed use of the Stagecraft volume (a huge bank of LED screens on which backgrounds and sets can be projected) for locations and more traditional effects techniques. “I love the whole world,” Luna admitted. “Suddenly I’m a kid on the set, because everything’s real, everything’s there. We don’t work with green screens — the stuff is built. The props work. They make noises.”

    Cassian Andor’s fate might be decided, but ‘Andor’ will face its biggest challenge when it arrives on Disney+. In slightly disappointing news, the show has been delayed slightly from its original late August launch to September 21st. But it will launch with the first three episodes on that day, and unlike other recent shows, it will have 12 episodes in its first season.

    Maarva (Fiona Shaw) in Lucasfilm's 'Andor,' exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
    Maarva (Fiona Shaw) in Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor,’ exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
  • ‘Star Wars’ Diego Luna Series Finds Its Showrunner

    ‘Star Wars’ Diego Luna Series Finds Its Showrunner

    Diego Luna
    Lucasfilm

    Disney+’s “Star Wars” series focusing on “Rogue One” spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) just landed the perfect showrunner: Stephen Schiff, who was an executive producer on FX’s just-wrapped spy drama “The Americans.”

    The series, which is expected to begin production next year, will be set before the events of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (naturally), and follow the adventures of Luna’s rebel spy.

    Luna told StarWars.com when the series was first announced that he was thrilled to revisit the character: “We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.”

    Besides being an executive-producer on the Emmy-nominated “Americans,” Schiff’s credits include writing “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” “True Crime” and 2017’s “American Assassin.”

    [Via Deadline]

  • ‘Star Wars’ Spinoffs Being Put on Hold: Report

    Is “Star Wars” is pressing pause on standalone spinoffs like “Solo” and “Rogue One”?

    Lucasfilm is indeed putting spinoffs on hold, according to a report by Collider, in order to concentrate more on “Episode IX” and their plans for the next trilogy after it. So, that means a halt to the Obi-Wan Kenobi movie that was in development. And unknown is the fate of a Boba Fett spinoff from James Mangold, rumors of which were flying around before “Solo’s” release.

    The slowdown comes on the heels of the disappointing box office returns of “Solo,” which were lower than expected. “Solo” made $84.4 million on opening weekend and has brought in $339.5 million worldwide in four weeks, but that falls short of how “Rogue One” performed during that same time period.

    Of course, to be fair, “Solo” opened in the far busier summer season versus the year-end holidays when the three most recent “Star Wars” movies debuted.

    Still, the standalone spinoffs have had a rocky history in their brief existence. “Rogue One” required extensive reshoots, with Tony Gilroy basically taking over as director from Gareth Edwards. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired in the middle of shooting “Solo,” with Ron Howard taking over.

    With this move, Lucasfilm seems to be focusing on the trilogy shepherded by “Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson and a series of films from “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

  • Tony Gilroy Finally Spills on ‘Rogue One’ Reshoots: ‘Terrible, Terrible Trouble’

    “Rogue One” almost went rogue itself, if it weren’t for the last-minute intervention of Tony Gilroy.

    Much was written and said about the extensive reshoots the “Star Wars” standalone movie went through. Reports said that Gilroy was at the helm for them instead of director Gareth Edwards and that he oversaw huge changes in the movie’s final act (like the addition of a key Darth Vader scene).

    Gilroy himself hasn’t said much about his role in “Rogue One” — until now. He finally opened up on “The Moment With Brian Koppelman” podcast and, wow, he didn’t hold back.

    Unlike other directors in the franchise, like J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, Gilroy was not a fanboy. At all.

    “I’ve never been interested in ‘Star Wars,’ ever. So I had no reverence for it whatsoever. I was unafraid about that,” he said. “And they were in such a swamp … they were in so much terrible, terrible trouble that all you could do was improve their position.”

    When he came in to fix the movie, Gilroy focused on the motivations of the characters and their ultimate goals.

    “If you look at ‘Rogue,’ all the difficulty with ‘Rogue,’ all the confusion of it … and all the mess, and in the end when you get in there, it’s actually very, very simple to solve,” he explained. “Because you sort of go, ‘This is a movie where, folks, just look. Everyone is going to die.’ So it’s a movie about sacrifice.”

    Gilroy was still cagey about exactly how much he contributed to the final version of the film. All he would say was, “I came in after the director’s cut. I have a screenplay credit in the arbitration that was easily won.”

    And while Abrams said after “The Force Awakens” that he wouldn’t do another “Star Wars” movie and then accepted the directing job on “Episode IX,” don’t expect Gilroy to return to that galaxy far, far away.

    “It doesn’t appeal to me. But I don’t think ‘Rogue’ really is a ‘Star Wars’ movie in many ways,” he said. “To me, it’s a Battle of Britain movie.”

  • ‘Rogue One’ Almost Had a Happier Ending

    Rogue OneIt’s no secret “Rogue One” went through a lot of changes in production, with entire scenes cut and additional footage shot. But the biggest change was to the film’s ending.

    At the end of “Rogue One” — spoilers ahead! — Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and their motley crew all die after successfully completing their mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. But the very first script treatment had some of the heroes surviving.

    “The original instinct was that they should all die,” screenwriter Gary Whitta told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s worth it. If you’re going to give your life for anything, give your life for this, to destroy a weapon that going to kill you all anyway. That’s what we always wanted to do. But we never explored it because we were afraid that Disney might not let us do it, that Disney might think it’s too dark for a ‘Star Wars’ movie or for their brand.”

    In those first drafts, Jyn was a Rebel soldier teamed up with a Cassian-type character and security droid K2-SO. Bodhi Rook, Chirrut Imwe, or Baze Malbus did not exist. Jyn and “Cassian” escape with the plans Scarif via a Rebel ship. Darth Vader attacks their ship and it seems all is lost, but the heroes survive thanks to an escape pod.

    “The fact that we had to jump through so many hoops to keep them alive was the writing gods telling us that if they were meant to live it wouldn’t be this difficult,” Whitta said.

    “We decided they should die on the surface [of Scarif,] and that was the way it ended. We were constantly trying to make all the pieces fit together. We tried every single idea. Eventually, through endless development you get through an evolutionary process where the best version rises to the top.”

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  • ‘Rogue One’ Blu-ray Coming Soon, But Without Deleted Scenes

    Rogue One“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is coming to Blu-ray and DVD soon — but without any new chapters.

    Disney and Lucasfilm announced that the blockbuster movie will be available on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on March 24, with a Blu-ray combo pack, DVD, and on demand release to follow on April 4.

    The release includes featurettes on Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, K2-SO, and other characters; in-depth looks at the practical and digital effects; as well as an intriguing epilogue about to “‘Star Wars’ stories yet to be told.”

    It does not include any deleted scenes nor an audio commentary from director Gareth Edwards. The latter may come later, like Disney did with J.J. Abrams for the “Force Awakens” 3-D release. As for deleted scenes, they may also be available later … or they may not. With all the reshoots for “Rogue One,” a lot of scenes and bits were left on the cutting room floor. But who knows if they make any sense in the finalized version of the movie?

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  • Darth Vader’s Big ‘Rogue One’ Scene Was Added in Reshoots

    Rogue OneOne of the best scenes in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was added at the last minute.

    Remember the scene where Darth Vader effortlessly chops down a bunch of rebel soldiers with his lightsaber? That almost didn’t exist. As editor John Gilroy told Yahoo TV, it was added in the extensive reshoots.

    “What was added — and it was a fantastic add — was the Vader action scene, with him boarding the ship and dispatching all those rebel soldiers,” he said. “That was something conceptualized a little later.”

    “Rogue One” underwent a lot of tweaking, and the end, in particular, was changed quite a bit. Gilroy came on board to help edit the new footage shot by his brother, Tony Gilroy. Together, they worked with director Gareth Edwards to fine-tune the last act. Adding that last Vader scene heightens the drama, as the rebels desperately try to escape with the Death Star plans.

    As Gilroy said, “It was a really great punch in the arm and something I think fans wanted to see.”
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  • Watch ‘Rogue One’ Star Felicity Jones Get Ready for ‘SNL’ With Stormtroopers’ Help

    “Saturday Night Live.”

    The actress, who plays renegade Jyn Erso in the Disney hit, is set to host “SNL” this Saturday, so the new video shows her hard at work rehearsing her opening monologue. Apparently in need of feedback, she turns to an unlikely source of help: a group of Stormtroopers. Sadly for Jones, though, the soldiers are not very impressed with her material.

    Fortunately for us all, “Rogue One” went over much better at the box office than Jones’s jokes do in the video. The film became one of the biggest of 2016, even though it wasn’t released until Dec. 16. Jones will get a chance to impress again when she hosts “Saturday Night Live” for real on Jan. 14.

    [via: Saturday Night Live/YouTube]

  • ‘Rogue One’ Gets a Fan-Made Opening Crawl

    “Rogue One” was the first “Star Wars” movie not to feature an opening crawl. A crawl-less opening seems to be a feature that Lucasfilm wants for the standalone “Star Wars” movies, to set them apart from the episodic saga.

    Lucasfilm had warned fans not to expect the expository text in “Rogue One,” but many moviegoers were still disappointed by the lack of the iconic crawl. One of those fans decided to fix that himself.

    Andrew Shackley posted the video he made, along with an explanation, on Reddit. “If any film in the new ‘Star Wars’ canon needed a crawl just to let people know where we are in time in this universe, it was ‘Rogue One,’” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “At the very least, I feel these words give added weight to the opening prologue of the film.”

    The text reads:

    The Jedi are all but extinct, the Republic has fallen and in their wake, the Galactic Empire has engulfed the far reaches of the galaxy in fear. Persecuted members of the Old Republic have been thrust into hiding. Only members of the REBEL ALLIANCE dare take a stand against the ruthless Imperial forces. Deep in the Outer Rim territories, the dastardly Director Krennic has discovered the location of a long lost friend; one capable of completing the Empire’s most powerful weapon yet…

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