The actor talks about the importance of family, how Andor copes with loss, and why the Empire makes the galaxy’s most uncomfortable outfits.
Diego Luna is a fan of your Andor headcanon.
Season 2 of Andor jumps through time, kicking off with a story that begins one year after the explosive events on Ferrix. While we might not know everything that happened during those months, Andor creator and executive producer Tony Gilroy leaves it to the audience to fill in the blanks. And Cassian Andor himself agrees the story belongs as much to the fans as the storytellers.
“There's a lot of mystery involved that makes it more interesting for viewers, because you can almost start creating your own backstory,” Luna says. “Now you know these characters, and you can imagine what happened there. These time jumps are a beautiful way to approach storytelling, where this story belongs to you as much as it belongs to us.”
Now that the first arc of Andor’s second season is on Disney+, Luna talks to StarWars.com about where Cassian Andor’s journey has taken him so far, the losses he’s endured, and why he still has a long way to go.
Look Back
Luna hoped the audience was ready to accompany Cassian Andor on his path of self-discovery as a rebel hero. After enjoying the process of making the character’s eponymous series — everything just felt right, Luna says — thinking about the show also being well-received seemed almost too good to be true. But Star Wars fans were on board with Cassian from the get-go.
“Audiences reacted positively, and people started talking about the show for the same reasons I was talking about the show, talking about how realistic it was, how complex, how intense, how specific in its tone, the stuff that made me want to be part of the show. And I thought, this is something that doesn't happen often.”
And now, in Season 2, Luna hopes to take that sentiment to the next level.
Spoiler Warning: This article discusses story details and plot points from the first three episodes of Andor Season 2.
Finding Andor in Season 2
As the new season begins, Andor isn’t the same person we met in the beginning of the series. The events of Season 1 have radicalized the rebel spy, whose anger is now directed at the Empire.
“I think what happens to Maarva follows every decision he's making,” says Luna. “He's been given a lot of responsibilities now, so it's far from that guy that was difficult to trust and difficult to read. Right now, he's a man on a mission, but he still doesn't feel part of something bigger. I don't think the whole feeling of becoming part of a community is there yet. There’s a long way to go for him to become the Cassian Andor we meet in Rogue One.”
There are hints of the leader Andor will become, however, reflected in the time he takes to reassure Niya, his anxious contact inside the Sienar test facility. “I think that that scene tells you what has happened to Cassian,” Luna says. “You realize he's changed. He’s become that person that can help you find the light, the purpose of your fight.”
Dressing the Part
Despite his encouragement, not everything goes exactly to plan in the most dangerous mission Andor’s taken so far. Luna points out the callback to one of Andor’s most famous scenes early in the first season. “He says, they're so arrogant that I can go in and out without being noticed. Well, now we're going to see that it's not as simple as he said before.”
At least he looks the part, thanks to the shiny Imperial flight suit he’s donned to go undercover.
“[The suit] looks fantastic,” Luna says. “It's really cool. It's the most uncomfortable shit I've ever worn. But that happens with [costume designer] Michael Wilkinson because he takes the story very seriously. You know the prison suit, the white one? Oh, my God. It reminds you you're a prisoner. This is the same. The Empire doesn’t care about comfort. The Empire just dresses you so they can take all your personality away and make sure you look like a soldier. Yeah, a beautiful outfit, but very uncomfortable to go in and out of a TIE fighter.”
Love and Loss
As for some of the other characters audiences grew to love during Andor’s first season, Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona), Brasso (Joplin Sibtain), Wilmon Paak (Muhannad Bhaier), and B2EMO made a new life for themselves and found a little happiness despite everything they endured at the hands of the Empire.
“These characters find a way to start all over again,” remarks Luna. “The Empire has taught these people to leave everything behind, and even through how painful that can be, it's about sticking together, moving together, and making sure they take care of each other. I think this season is a lot about family, and what family means. We're telling the story of a revolutionary, and to understand why he keeps going, why he keeps fighting, we have to understand what he loses on the way, on the journey.”
When the Empire closes in on his friends, the situation spirals out of control and Cassian suffers another major loss, affecting the future rebel leader. (And us.)
“Now he's not just fighting for Maarva; he's fighting for Brasso,” Luna says. “Behind every war, there's loss. So, he's going to fight until the end, because he has this responsibility to his family.”
Connecting with Cassian
Luna understands why Cassian sacrifices everything for the Rebellion, even if he’s not sure they’re decisions he could make himself. It’s an important story to tell, he says.
“We talk about people who bring change, but we don't think about what they left behind and what makes them different from us. I don't know if I would make the choices Cassian makes in my life. I think people are going to connect with this man in a very special way. This is the story of a guy that shows us that big change comes with many people making the right decision. And he's just one of them. This is just an example of what regular people can do.”
There’s still more of Cassian’s story to be told this season of Andor, and Luna expects the spy’s passionate speech in Rogue One about the things he’s sacrificed to mean even more to audiences as the events of this season unfold.
“I'm sure they're going to watch Season 2 and then go straight to Rogue One. I'm going to do that," Luna says. "That's one thing that I think was very brave and bold about doing this show: going back and taking time to give you the opportunity to rethink Rogue One from a different perspective.”
Watch Diego Luna in the second season of Andor, now streaming on Disney+.
