Diego Luna is getting a live-action Star Wars series on Disney+ that's centered on his Rogue One character, Cassian Andor, and fans could not be more excited. Unfortunately, filming for the series (and countless others) hit a massive roadblock in the form of the coronavirus pandemic. But for his part, Luna is in no rush to start filming the series.
Work on Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor Disney+ series had advanced for roughly four weeks when production got forced to shut down. And while the actor wouldn't mind getting back to work, he just wants to make sure things proceed with as much caution as possible: In terms of getting back to work on the show, Luna told The Guardian:
Shooting is starting around the world, so slowly we’re going back, but there’s no rush. To me, what this pandemic brought to my attention is that there [are] priorities. We have to be cautious and we have to be wise on when and how to go back. And the how is the most important, because if we go back to be who we were, we’ve wasted our opportunity, we wasted a major opportunity of rethinking and reinventing much of the stuff we believed was crucial and essential that clearly is not.
For Diego Luna, safety around the coronavirus arguably has personal meaning, as the story mentions that Luna’s children contracted COVID-19. As for the technical aspects of mounting a return, Luna shared that the manner in which the Disney+ Star Wars series returns is critical to how the industry will come back in a world post-pandemic. Diego Luna also indicated that there are aspects of filming that could get sheared down. Or at least, that is my read on the last line of his comment.
As Luna points out, many shows are restarting filming like Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart, which is already making progress on its next season, while Disney+’s Star Wars series seems to be a little further behind.
Following The Mandalorian’s success, Star Wars fans are undoubtedly anxious to see the Cassian Andor series, which picks up five years before the character's heroic death in Rogue One. Adding to the excitement is that the Disney+ show could introduce Star Wars characters that ended up getting cut out of the movies.
Dune’s Stellan Skarsgard and Poldark star Kyle Soller (who played Ross’ cousin Francis) both joined Diego Luna in the cast of the Star Wars series. And the excitement hasn't ended there because there have been rumors that Jimmy Smits could be reprising his role as Bail Organa for the show.
Updated cast lists aside, fans are ready to see Cassian Andor back among the living on the Disney+ series. And with the show seemingly starting back production, it will soon join other Disney+ shows in restarting like Falcon and Winter Soldier, which received a bit of special treatment.
At this point, it's hard to say what the future holds for Diego Luna's Rogue One prequel, but I think he makes a good point in regards to safety. It'll be interesting to see what kind of measures are taken when the actor and his co-stars can finally return to set.
Disney+ has yet to announce a premiere date for Diego Luna’s Star Wars series, though it's safe to say that, considering the delay in filming, it will be well after this fall’s premieres.
