In the Tony Gilroy-created series, Luna plays the role of Cassian Andor, a thief from the fictional planet of Ferrix and charts his journey towards becoming a revolutionary for the Rebel Alliance that goes up against the Galactic Empire in the galaxy far, far away.
“From a personal perspective, it’s been a wonderful journey. I’ve been working with people I admire and learned a lot from, we’ve created a family. And there’s something beautiful about this show is that everyone comes to work really wanting to be there and contribute. And it’s been special,” Luna told PTI in a virtual interview from London.
“We went through a pandemic together, there were strikes and (we were) shooting far away from home, but it never felt… It was never difficult to go to work. There was always something beautiful happening there, in that interaction. And the making of the show was a lot of fun for me and a beautiful experience,” he added.
Luna, who has worked with master filmmakers like Alfonso Cuaron (“Y Tu Mama Tambien”), Steven Spielberg (“The Terminal”), Gus Van Sant (“Milk”) and Woody Allen (“A Rainy Day in New York”), said the cast and crew spent six tough years making the series, which is set to conclude with its much-anticipated second season.
Andor is a character that Luna first played in the 2016 blockbuster “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”, which was a prequel to the George Lucas’ “Star Wars” film (1977). Star Wars saga, has now expanded into movies, cartoons and multiple spin off shows. Luna was lauded for showcasing the moral complexities of a reluctant spy with his performance, ultimately leading Lucasfilm to develop a dedicated series exploring the character’s origins.
“It’s nice in the universe of Star Wars to know how regular people live. What’s behind this rebellion? Why the need for a rebellion? And to have an opportunity also to see characters in a more intimate way, to get to witness their everyday life, that’s something special that this show brings,” he said.
Season two of “Andor” includes four three-episode weekly premieres that will bridge the four years leading up to the events of “Rogue One”, which portrayed a heroic band of rebels who steal the plans to the Empire’s weapon of mass destruction—The Death Star.
The first batch of episodes will premiere in India on JioHotstar on April 22.
According to Luna, “Andor” is less about presenting epic battles and more about the moral ambiguity and how messy the road to rebellion can be.
“Making people fight for the same thing is not easy. And there’s obviously fractions and a lot of interest going on here. That’s the complexity of this show, that it doesn’t tell a black and white story where there’s just good and baddies. And the good people are fighting the bad people.
“To actually get together and kind of find what is that cause in common that we can fight for, it’s a struggle on its own and this show is about that. It’s about the complexity of actually coming up with a response to this empire who’s ruling and making times very dark in this galaxy,” the 45-year-old actor said.
Besides Luna, the second chapter is also bringing back Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen, Andor’s close friend.
Arjona, the star of movies such as “Hit Man”, “Blink Twice”, “Triple Frontier”, “6 Underground” and “Morbius”, said she enjoyed exploring the character for the second time.
“I keep going back to the way she deals with dignity. I think there’s so many things that happen to Bix and continue to happen but she’s never a victim.
“She is always so self-resilient and empowered. I don’t know where she gets that strength from. There’s something that’s driving her, that’s really beautiful and I’ve learned a lot from it. So I think she stands in a lot of dignity like a good Ferruxian woman or like a good Latin woman,” she said.
“Andor” season two also stars Stellan Skarsgard, Genevieve O’Reilly, Kyle Soller, Denise Gough, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, and Elizabeth Dulau. PTI RB BK RB RB
