“Theres a lot for Cassian to understand still,” the Star Wars actor says.
Warning: This story contains spoilers forAndor’s season 1 finale.
If you’ve been obsessing overAndorlately, you’re not the only one.
Diego Luna in ‘Andor’.Lucasfilm Ltd.
“It’s sad to get to the finale, to be honest!”
the 42-year-old actor says with a laugh.
“I’ve been enjoying this journey of releasing once a week.
It’s so long ago that we used to see TV this way.
But now that I’ve been going through this, it’s been quite cool.”
Here, Luna opens up about the revolution-sparking finale and what to expect fromAndorseason 2.
What’s it been like to see the reaction to the show?
DIEGO LUNA:I’m excited.
I mean, I was expecting the show to work.
I feel proud of what we’ve done.
But I don’t make a run at imagine the future too much.
I think that’s not fair to the experience, you know?
I wait for things to happen.
I’m hearing a lot about the stuff we were reminding ourselves of every day on set.
At the beginning, we said, “We want to be profound.
We want to be complex.
We want to be very specific.
We want to take the time and be patient and be intimate with these characters and go deep.
We want it to be mature.
We want it to be darker.”
And all of that is what people are saying and what I’m reading.
So, that feels very special.
What interested you about this season-long arc we see him go on?
We are very specific about what Cassian is witnessing.
Even though he belongs to a community, he has trouble interacting with the community.
He’s hiding from them.
I think what Tony does really well is that he never makes it easy for this character.
He never simplifies the journey at all.
It’s very complex, and everything counts.
But I think the journey of Cassian is not there yet.
And how much in this moment, in this situation, in this galaxy can we call it life?
This last episode is so powerful and incredible.
That reference was always there, and he wasn’t ready to understand.
He had it there in front of him all the time, but he wasn’t ready.
It was all here."
Tell me about working with her.
Fiona, she’s amazing.
We kind of worked on those scenes like it was theater.
We went through the whole scenes from beginning to end, and it was delicious, you know?
There was always something new.
She’s so willing to keep going and let the scene grow and to try things out.
She’s very humble, and she is very open, and she is very generous.
I really enjoyed working with her.
Sadly, it wasn’t as long as I would’ve wanted it to be because Cassian always leaves.
[Laughs] That’s what we learn in this season that Cassian always leaves.
There’s room for change.
The amount of time put into the casting of this series is quite unique.
The scenes are very complex, and there’s a lot of layers going on.
And they’re long.
Tony writes these very long scenes.
[Laughs] I have really long scenes with Stellan [Skarsgard], with Fiona, withAndy Serkis.
These are scenes that are not just long, but have that weight.
So, the casting is something very important with material like this.
So, it’s about all of those characters.
You mentioned theprison storyline, which is an incredible sequence and isa major tipping point for Cassian.
What do you remember most about filming those prison scenes?
It was insane because it was like we were living in a prison for weeks.
The production designer built this amazing set that’s actually real.
And I mean, that is actually happening.
It doesn’t stop.
It was suffocating to be there.
And Michael Wilkinson did this amazing costume design, so there is no personality behind every man.
It’s quite suffocating.
We were shooting for weeks, not seeing the light.
They need you healthy and strong to be building this.
It’s not the jail we think about.
It’s not the jail we’ve seen so many times.
It’s a jail you’re able to live in without even noticing.
And after what happens there, there’s no way back.
Once you understand the incredible amount of control that the Empire has, that [changes everything].
But I think there’s a lot for Cassian to understand still.
A lot has to happen still.
How much were you paying attention to her storyline while you were shooting?
Well, this time, I was invited to produce, so I knew everything.
[Laughs] I’ve been in this show for more than four years.
What I’ve enjoyed so much in this journey is being there since things were just an idea.
It’s beautiful to witness that process and be able to participate and raise questions when there’s time.
It’s been a wonderful journey.
That’s a difficult one.
I would say the first time I got to walk through Ferrix, that was insane.
It’s incredible the amount of detail that place had.
I mean, you could open every door.
If there was a button, you could touch it, and something would happen.
You would walk into a room, and the room was good to shoot in.
I remember it was the beginning of the year, and it was so cold.
I mean, I come from Mexico.
I’m not used to this cold, so the whole situation was so bizarre.
[Laughs] I was very much in another galaxy, one far, far away.
Obviously, my family, my friends, and everyone are in Mexico.
But that day on Ferrix, I was like, “Oh crap.
We are doing a massive, gigantic show.”
[Laughs]
I know you’re starting production on season 2.
Where are you in the process?
It’s like I didn’t stop.
It’s like there’s not a chance to celebrate!
That’s the big different of this format, that we never stop working.
But we’re doing it with this beautiful feeling of knowing we did something that people cared about.
Well, I know I and a lot of people are eagerly waiting for season 2.
So, it takes time.
We’re not going to rush it.
I mean, that’s the beauty of this show.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
