Disney dropped a teaser trailer Thursday for Andor, the latest Disney Plus series set in the Star Wars universe, and announcing a premiere date of August 31. The series will serve as a prequel to the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, itself a prequel to the original Star Wars: A New Hope. Andor will star Diego Luna, reprising his role as Rebel spy Cassian Andor from Rogue One.
Rogue One screenwriter and Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy, speaking at Disneyland California’s Star Wars Celebration event, confirmed that 12 episodes of the series have been shot, with a second season of 12 episodes already ordered.
Gilroy also explained that the final shot of the series will lead directly into the events of Rogue One, just as the final shot of that film led directly into A New Hope. No word on if the world’s worst CGI will be used on Andor, as it was to recreate a young Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in Rogue One.
Andor will be set five years before the events of Rogue One, and will also feature Forest Whitaker returning as Clone Wars veteran and Rebel Saw Gerrera, and Genevieve O’Reilly reprising her role as Mon Mothma from Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One (a role originated by Caroline Blakiston in Return of the Jedi).
Speaking at the Star Wars Celebration event, Luna promised that long-time fans would be surprised by his role, saying, “You’re not going to recognize Cassian Andor in the beginning. I cannot wait for you to meet him.”