The ‘Andor’ Cast Talks Bringing a Bold Vision of ‘Star Wars’ to Life

How do you start a revolution? When audiences first entered the galaxy of Star Wars, the Rebellion against the evil Empire is well underway, but all resistance movements need a spark. The franchise isn’t shy about exploring those genesis points, but those deep dives were often squirreled away in animated series, books, or even comic books. They were there for those who wanted more, but were rarely an essential part of the storytelling until Rogue One. The first A Star Wars Story took the focus off exploring the legacy of the Skywalker family and turned its gaze to a ragtag group of mercenaries, spies, assassins, and defectors responsible for stealing the plans to the Death Star and, in turn, setting in motion the underlying narrative of A New Hope.

One of the standouts of Rogue One is Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), who serves as a direct conduit between the shady, less savory elements (shortly after audiences meet him in the film, Andor kills an injured informant to ensure himself a clean getaway) of the Rebellion and the more public-facing political sides. As such, Andor felt a bit like a Star Wars version of Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul’s Mike Ehrmantraut, a guy unafraid to do the dirty work because he knows what it’s for. Andor is also reminiscent of another handyman—or, perhaps, as Michael Clayton calls himself, a janitor.