'Andor' star Stellan Skarsgard may have accidentally confirmed second season of 'Rogue One' spinoff
Disney and Lucasfilm might be in crisis control mode after Stellan Skarsgård recently sat down with Swedish news outlet, Dagens Nyheter. During the interview, the actor discussed his upcoming projects and may have spoiled a major announcement regarding Lucasfilm's long-awaited Rogue One television spinoff, Andor, whose first season has yet to even premiere on Disney+.
He stated that production for Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part II is scheduled to begin in July, "and then in the autumn, it's time for the second season of the Star Wars series Andor." Of course, nothing of the sort has been confirmed by the House of Mouse, which may be saving the official news for Star Wars Day on Wednesday, May 4. If true, Lucasfilm must have a lot of confidence in what they're seeing to hand down an early renewal like that. Of course we'll caveat that the actor could have misspoken, or was perhaps planning out his calendar on a presumed shooting schedule for if the show is renewed. But at face value, it sounds like we'll be seeing more of this super-spy corner of the Star Wars universe.
Skarsgård's comments arrive on the heels of a supposedly errant tweet from a Disney executive, who claimed that the Obi-Wan Kenobi series would bow in May.
Andor, which follows the clandestine adventures of Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) prior to the events of Rogue One, has been in the works for almost four years now. The only reason it's taking so long is because of — you guessed it! — the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luna is one of several familiar faces, including Alan Tudyk (K-2SO), Genevieve O'Reilly (Mon Mothma), and Forrest Whittaker (Saw Gerrera). Skarsgård, Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter), Denise Gough (The Kid Who Would Be King), Adria Arjona (Good Omens), Kyle Soller (Brexit: The Uncivil War), and Robert Emms (His Dark Materials) are all playing mystery characters. A short sizzle reel was released in December 2020, but other than that, we have yet to receive any first look production stills or, better yet, an actual trailer.
"I’ve seen all the Star Wars films, because I’ve had children in the ‘80s, and the ‘90s, and the 2000s, and the 2010s," Skarsgård said last April. "I’ve had children in five decades, which means you’ve seen all the Star Warsfilms — and seen all the toys as well. But when I saw Rogue One, it had much more atmosphere and seemed a little more mature — and that was Tony Gilroy, who’s the showrunner on this one. So, hopefully this one will be a little more than little plastic people falling over."
Gilroy, who co-wrote the Rogue One screenplay, serves as showrunner and executive producer. He was also locked in to direct the pilot, but was ultimately forced to hand over that responsibility to Toby Haynes (Doctor Who, Black Mirror) due to pandemic travel restrictions.
Right now, the only two live-action Star Wars television projects currently available to stream on Disney+ are Seasons 1-2 of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, which will wrap up this Wednesday — Feb. 9.
