The latest addition to the Star Wars canon, Andor is slated for a September 21 release on Disney+ Hotstar. Andor, a prequel to the cult favourite movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), follows the journey of Cassian (Diego Luna) and his evolution into a Rebellion leader. At Film Companion, we have seen the first four episodes of Andor. Visually (and tonally), the series is one of the more grounded entries in the Star Wars franchise, and plays out like a slow-burn spy-thriller, while juggling its larger galactic and political stakes.
We caught up with Genevieve O'Reilly, who plays the iconic Mon Mothma, Rebellion's political figurehead and inspiration. O'Reilly, a Star Wars veteran, has held the role for nearly two decades, starting with Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005).
Your character, Mon Mothma, has been an iconic and integral part of the modern Star Wars canon. What was it like to come back and reprise that role for Andor?
It is an extraordinary gift of a role that I get to reinvestigate! I get to reinvestigate Mon Mothma at different stages of her life – and that is often reflective of the different stages in my life. In Andor, what will be exciting for fans is that we meet Mon Mothma in a very different place than we've ever seen her before.
So how is Mon in Andor different from the versions of her we've seen you play?
Mon in Andor is a very different woman from the one we know from the other Star Wars iterations – and in particular Rogue One. She looks different, she dresses different and she feels different. She is navigating the political world of the Imperial Senate, and living a life in high society. However, within that political class, she is using her voice for diplomacy and trying to effect change from within the Galactic Empire. I feel that Andor will take us on a fantastic journey, and I am hopeful that all of you will like that journey and stick around!
How does Mon Mothma's world collide with Cassian's? What is the equation Mon and Cassian share in Andor?
Andor begins five years before Rogue One, so when we meet Mon Mothma and Cassian they are in very different places. There is nothing that aligns us both in the beginning – and that's integral to what makes the show's story so great! In the show, we meet and learn so much more about Cassian's back story and his history. He is on a completely different planet. We meet Mon in Coruscant, the political capital of the Empire. So, the start points for both are very separate.
But we know that over the two seasons, events in the show bring them together. And, she truly comes to believe in Cassian – that's why she eventually sends him on that pivotal mission in Rogue One with Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones). But there is a journey to go on, before we get there, and the start points for both will be very different in Andor!
Before we wrap, a message for Star Wars and Film Companion Fans in India?
A thank you to the fans in India, for supporting us – I am really excited for you to see Andor. I really hope you love the show, enjoy the story, and come on the journey with us.
Andor will stream on Disney+ Hotstar.