Andor: Tony Gilroy Explains “Rogue One” Prequel’s 5-Year Story Format

As fans well remember, this past May’s Star Wars Celebration brought a ton of good news regarding Disney+ & Lucasfilm’s upcoming live-action Andor series. With stars Diego Luna & Genevieve O’Reilly, creator Tony Gilroy & producer Sanne Wohlenberg representing the Rogue One prequel series, viewers were treated to an official teaser, key art & preview images, and a confirmed premiere date on August 31st. But perhaps the surprising news was the size of the series, with Gilroy confirming a two-season, five-year story timeline that will spell out over 24 episodes (with all roads leading to the opening of Rogue One). So here’s how it breaks down: the first, 12-episode season will cover the first year of Cassian Andor’s (Luna) story and the rise of the Rebellion. From there, the second, 12-episode season will spend the other four years before a narrative hand-off to Rogue One.

“The scale of the show is so huge. Directors work in blocks of three episodes, so we did four blocks [in Season 1] of three episodes each,” Gilroy explained in an interview with Empire. “We looked and said, ‘Wow, it’d be really interesting if we come back, and we use each block to represent a year. We’ll move a year closer with each block’. From a narrative point of view, it’s really exciting to be able to work on something where you do a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and then jump a year.”

The “Andor” series will explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

Joining Luna are Stellan Skarsgård (Chernobyl), Kyle Soller (Brexit), Genevieve O’Reilly (reprising Mon Mothma), Denise Gough (Angels in America), Forest Whitaker (reprising Saw Gerrera), Fiona Shaw (“Harry Potter” franchise), Robert Emms (His Dark Materials), and Adria Arjona (6 Underground, Morbius). Gilroy serves as both the series creator and showrunner, with Andor set to premiere on August 31st.