Disney+ premiered “Andor,” the new series exploring the Star Wars galaxy created by Tony Gilroy (“The Bourne Legacy”). It is the prequel to “Rogue One”, so it places us temporarily five years before those events. In 12 episodes, the story follows the journey of Cassian Andor, full of dangers, deceptions and intrigues and in the face of the flourishing rebellion against the Empire.
It’s a story about revolution, starring Diego Luna (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Narcos: Mexico”) as Cassian Andor, Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Stellan Skarsgård (“Dune,” “Chernobyl”), Adria Arjona (“Morbius,” “The Father of the Bride”), Denise Gough (“Under the Flag of Heaven,” “Too Close”), Kyle Soller (“Poldark,” “Brexit”), Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve, “Killing Eve,” “Baptiste”) and Faye Marsay (“Game of Thrones”, “Deep Water”). “I feel very fortunate to be a part of this great Star Wars universe and family. I’m excited to have the opportunity to play this woman again, and specifically in ‘Andor’ I feel like we got to know this woman not only in her role as a senator, but we know her as a woman, and I was very excited about that opportunity,” O’Reilly said, in an exclusive interview with Filo.news.***Genevieve O’Reilly was nominated for best leading actress in a film for her role opposite Eric Bana in “The Dry.” the film adaptation of Jane Harper’s novel, and Richard Dale’s “Last Days of a Princess.” She is also known and was nominated for an IFTA for “Tin Star: Liverpool” with Tim Roth, the epic revenge thriller from Sky Atlantic and Amazon. In 2019, O’Reilly worked on “Tolkien,” the iconic author’s biopic, which tells the true story that led J.R.R. Tolkien to write the “Lord of the Rings” series. As for the theater, she took to the Broadway stage, re-editing her original portrayal of Mary Carney in Jez Butterworth’s play “The Ferryman.” On television, meanwhile, she was in “Episodes” with Matt LeBlanc and the Peabody Award-winning drama “The Honourable Woman” with Maggie Gyllenhaal, as well as “The Secret”, nominated for BAFTA, for ITV and “Spooks” for the BBC.
Photo: Courtesy of the press
The actress has a long history with Star Wars, as she first appeared in “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” and then in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” as well as voicing the character in “Star Wars Rebels.” The first time we met Mom was in ‘Return of the Jedi’, played wonderfully by Carolyn Blackstone, incredibly. But George Lucas at that time put a woman as the leader of the Rebel Alliance. I loved that,” he confesses.
Photo: Courtesy of the press
In the case of “Andor,” he plays the young senator who serves in the gleaming halls of galactic government on the planet of Coruscant. “She’s a miraculous actress. I think people are going to be blown away by what he does as we move forward. It was a gift to have her and discover how great she was,” the director said in a press release. I love that now we come to discover what it is, how hard that leadership is. The struggle that means being a woman in a public space and also in a private space, which is to be a woman fighting against a dictatorship, and also having to manage a family or a home. I loved the opportunity to play her as a woman of flesh and blood, not only as a pillar, but as a human,” the actress points out to this medium.***The series also has an incredible team behind the camera: in the script was Dan Gilroy (“Nightcrawler”) Stephen Schiff (“The Americans”), Beau Willimon (“House of Cards”), and in direction of Toby Haynes (“Black Mirror”), Susanna White (“Parade’s End”), Benjamin Caron (“The Crown”). In turn, the music was provided by Nicholas Britell (“Succession”, “Moonlight”), the production design of Luke Hull (“Chernobyl”).
Production took place at Pinewood Studios in the Uk and elsewhere in England, including Coryton, Marlow and Portland House. But in the series we travel much further, transcending earthly borders to reach planets like Ferrix, Cassian’s birthplace and also a rescue and repair center. For the actress that is the key to the success of the “Star Wars” saga, which transcends generations and that to date continues to stomp among fans around the world: “I think what she does in a very special way is to speak with epic and intimacy, almost in equal measure. You can watch the movies with a grandparent, parents and children. I love seeing them with my children, and talking about it as a family, it’s so brave, it’s so big, it’s universal and familiar at the same time. I think the big hisThey do that. These are planets, but also people. I think George Lucas started that way and I think Gilroy follows him in ‘Andor.'”
