The Mandalorian, the first STAR WARS TV series to stream on Disney+, wrapped up its largely successful first season late last year, but Disney has more small-screen projects set in a galaxy far, far away just over the horizon, including a ROGUE ONE prequel series focusing on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the Rebel intelligence officer who helped to steal the Death Star plans.
Tony Gilroy, who co-wrote ROGUE ONE as well as directed portions of its extensive reshoots, will be penning the pilot for the series as well as directing several episodes, but it wouldn't be a Cassian Andor series without K-2SO, Cassian's droid sidekick. Alan Tudyk, who voiced and performed K-2SO through motion-capture, is back to reprise the role, and the actor spoke of returning to the role while appearing on a Television Critics Association panel for Resident Alien, his upcoming Syfy series.
Playing with Cassian, playing with Diego Luna and being in the world of Star Wars again. Especially after seeing The Mandalorian and seeing what they can do with a series, how much fun it is to just go into smaller stories and tell stories that way.
According to Tudyk, Disney offered to have a double do the motion-capture aspects of the performance for the TV series so that he would only have to supply the voice, but Tudyk wasn't having it. "I don’t want anybody else doing that," Tudyk said. "It means a lot to me. They offered it but it’s not a voice over job for me. Because his face doesn’t move, that’s what you have is your body to show emotion. And because of Sonny [his character in I, Robot] and just because of theater, I’m trained. I studied that and it’s something I enjoy."
The ROGUE ONE prequel series has been described as a "rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire." In a statement released when the project was first announced, Diego Luna said:
Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me. I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey. We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.
In addition to the Cassian Andor series, we've also got the second season of The Mandalorian as well as an Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor to look forward to as well.