A familiar face from Rogue One is reportedly going to return for the prequel series Andor. According to The Playlist, Forest Whitaker will be reprising his role of Saw Gerrera for the upcoming Disney+ series.
The revelation came not from Whitaker, but from his now co-star Stellan Skarsgård who said in an interview with a Swedish radio station that he got to film a scene alongside Whitaker. Wait, but didn’t (spoiler) Gerrera die with almost all of the characters from Rogue One? Yes, almost no one made it out of the film alive, as the events the film portrayed showed the characters undertaking what they understood to be a suicide mission in retrieving the plans to take down the Empire's ultimate weapon of the Death Star.
The Andor series, not to be confused with the forest moon of Endor, will take place before the events of the film, however, as it follows Diego Luna as Cassian Andor himself in his earlier years of fighting on behalf of the Alliance against the Empire. It is both classic Star Wars fodder while also being the first time a series has been made directly as a prequel to one of the franchise’s films that itself was also a prequel.
As for whether any other members of the film’s cast will return, thus far Whitaker is one of the biggest names save for Luna. Collider had previously interviewed Riz Ahmed for his 2020 film The Sound of Metal where, when asked if he would return, said he hadn’t yet gotten a call.
The same is true for Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, who will not be showing up in the show. At least, at first. Tudyk dropped some hints in an interview with Collider that his snappy robot may make an appearance at some point.
“They're shooting it right now, I'm not in it. But, if it stays on the air, stories keep getting told, I'll end up in there,” Tudyk said.
The series will also star Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O’Reilly. The series is being run by Tony Gilroy who previously worked on the reshoots for Rogue One and also co-wrote the film. One of the announced directors is Toby Haynes of Black Mirror.
As for how Whitaker will factor in the story, that remains a mystery. When first seen as the character in the film, he was a little worse for the wear as he had been punished with a lifetime’s worth of war injuries. As a result, he had become disillusioned with the fight and seemed to almost give up in the face of having to continue on.
It isn't clear exactly how far back the new series will look, though it is likely the more radical resistance fighter will be less beaten down than he was in the film just solely based on the fact that time has not yet taken its toll on him. It represents a unique challenge for Whitaker to revisit a younger version of a character he has already played, though it certainly is the most intriguing casting news out of the series thus far.
Andor is currently slated for a 2022 release on Disney+ and will consist of 12 episodes.