Rogue One Writer Tony Gilroy Joining Cassian Andor Star Wars Prequel Series

Rogue One‘s co-writer Tony Gilroy will be writing the pilot for a prequel series centered on one of that film’s characters, Diego Luna’s heroic Cassian Andor. Not only that, but Gilroy will be directing multiple episodes of the series, which he’ll be working on with showrunner Stephen Schiff.

Variety broke the story that Gilroy will be working on the still-untitled show that will focus on Luna’s Rebel agent in the years leading up to the events in Rogue One, charting the early days of the Rebels fight against the Empire. Rogue One was about a team of plucky Rebels, led by Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso and assisted by Luna’s Cassian Andor, who went on a suicidal mission to steal the Death Star plans. This ultimately successful and (spoiler alert) costly mission literally saved the Rebels—it also cost the lives of all those involved in the theft. Their actions led directly to the events in the very first Star Wars film in the franchise, A New Hope, helping Luke Skywalker destroy the Death Star thanks to the pilfered plans.

In this new prequel, Luna’s Andor will be joined by his trusty droid sidekick from Rogue One, K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk. Gilroy is an immensely talented filmmaker and storyteller, and adding him to this series is certainly great news. His credits including writing the Jason Bourne franchise, writing and directing the excellent, Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton (he received nominations for best original screenplay and best director), and directing 2012’s The Bourne Legacy. Gilroy came onboard Rogue One during the film’s extensive reshoots, and ended up earning a writing credit and helped director Gareth Edwards shape the film in the editing process. It was the first Star Wars film outside of the Skywalker Saga (although it was directly tied to it), and went on to be a massive hit.

The new Cassian Andor show joins Disney +’s other live-action Star Wars series, which include Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, starring Pedro Pascal as the titular bounty hunter, and the limited series surrounding Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. On the big screen, we’ve got the 9th and final installment in the Skywalker Saga heading our way on December 20, J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Featured image: Diego Luna in Rogue One. Courtesy: Walt Disney Studios