18
Credit: DisneyWhen George Lucas created the Star Wars franchise, he could only dream about what a galaxy far, far away would become.
Related:Â In His Own Words: George Lucas FINALLY Shares Why He Sold ‘Star Wars’
Now, over 40 years after Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) hit movie theaters, Star Wars fans still look the Skywalker Saga’s iconic characters for inspiration, courage, and, appropriately, hope in even the toughest times of their own lives.
Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and rakish Millennium Falcon pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford) changed cinema and popular culture for the better. The story they helped tell in Lucas’s original trilogy has given rise to dozens of other tales across novels, TV series, and standalone movies.
After Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, the first non-trilogy Star Wars film they made was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).
Related:Â Lucasfilm Confirms Major Darth Vader Scene Was Cut From ‘Rogue One’
The film is set immediately before the events of A New Hope and introduced the Star Wars fan base to a motley crew of characters including Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen), and Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang).
Rogue One also featured flashbacks to Jyn’s father, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), who was conscripted to help design the first Death Star and sabotaged the Empire’s plans along the way.
Now, we are gearing up to get to know a fan-favorite Rogue One character even better. Prequel series Andor is set to debut on Disney+ in 2022 and will showcase Rebel spy Cassian Andor’s adventures about five years before he met his Rogue One crew.
The sizzle reel for the upcoming Star Wars series was released at the 2020 Disney Investor Day event.
Related:Â Alan Tudyk Says He Won’t Be Back as Beloved K-2SO in ‘Andor’…Yet
What does George Lucas have to do with Andor?
In an exciting turn of events, it seems that George Lucas will be returning to Star Wars in a meaningful way with Andor. IMDb has confirmed that the man who created a galaxy far, far away is the writer for two episodes of the upcoming streaming show.
Related:Â VIDEO: George Lucas Spotted in Background of Random Documentary
Lucas was last heavily involved with the Star Wars universe when he worked with Dave Filoni — who is now executive producer of Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian — on the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The Lucasfilm founder and science fiction guru has expressed that he expected to have “more say” in Disney’s sequel trilogy and that he would return to Star Wars if he were given full creative control. While he doesn’t seem to have total control of Andor, it is likely that Lucas’s episodes will be able to propel the storyline forward however he sees fit.
Furthermore, since Andor is slated to have 12 episodes, it is possible that Lucas will write additional scripts.
What do we know about Andor?
Beyond what is shown in the sizzle reel, not much is known about the details of Andor. However, in addition to Luna reprising his role as Andor, several other cast members have been confirmed via IMDb.
Related: Fans Convinced Little Marlow ‘Star Wars’ Set Photos Are For ‘Andor,’ Not ‘Kenobi’
For example, Stellan Skarsgard, Adria Arjona, and Denise Gough have all been cast in unnamed roles. Additionally, Genevieve O’Reilly will reprise her role as popular Star Wars character Mon Mothma.
The Cassian Andor series has no specific release date at this time.
Related:Â How George Lucas and Steven Spielberg Saved Disney
Another confirmed upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series is OBI-WAN KENOBI: An Original Series once more starring Ewan McGregor as the titular Jedi Master and Hayden Christensen reprising his prequel trilogy role as Darth Vader.
Additionally, fans can look forward to The Mandalorian Season 3 and spinoffs The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Rangers of the New Republic.
What do you think about George Lucas writing Andor episodes? Are you excited about this development?
