Latest news with #Cassian
The Herald Scotland
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Star Wars strikes back – thanks to the Highlands
There was no real clamour in the fanbase to paint the backstory of this rather ordinary rebel hero. Cassian had no lightsaber, no Force powers, and he was no Jedi. But this unremarkable rebel, it transpired, was just what the franchise needed – alongside a grounding in the landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. Read More: When Andor premiered in 2022, it made the galaxy feel real again. This authenticity of Andor was apparent in its weighty themes – from the authoritarianism and the dangers of emergency legislation to a technologically enhanced prison-industrial complex – but also in its production. Unlike other recent Star Wars series – such as The Mandalorian or Ahsoka, which rely heavily on virtual production technology and enveloping video walls – Andor was filmed largely on location. This decision gave the series a tactile realism that digital backdrops often lack. It marked a return to the grounded, politically-charged storytelling and practical filmmaking that defined the original Star Wars trilogy. Central to this endeavour was the decision to film key scenes in the Scottish Highlands. The glorious Glen Tilt and the Cruachan Dam and surrounding area of the stunning Pass of Brander became the setting for Aldhani, a planet that is central to Andor's storytelling. The planet's sweeping valleys, rocky mountains, and sacred rivers were brought to life using these Scottish settings. These landscapes certainly look like they could be in a galaxy far, far away – but they didn't just serve as neutral backdrops. As places steeped in history, culture, myth, and folklore these settings told in their own right, echoing the themes of power, colonisation, exploitation and resistance that run through Andor. Glen Tilt, a dramatic glen carved by glacial erosion, has long been a site of scientific and social significance. It was here that James Hutton developed his theory of deep geological time, and where 19th-century legal battles over public access helped shape Scotland's right-to-roam laws. These histories resonate with the plight of the Dhanis, the indigenous people of Aldhani, who are displaced by the Empire but walk back to their sacred valley to witness a celestial event known as 'The Eye.' Cruachan Dam (Image: PA) The Cruachan Dam, meanwhile, doubles as the Imperial garrison. Its brutalist architecture – cold, concrete, and imposing – mirrors the Empire's oppressive presence. From a certain point-of-view the dam resembles Darth Vader's mask, a visual metaphor that underscores the Empire's domination of place and space. Yet this imposing, unnatural barrier is also a symbol of hope for the resistance. In Andor, a young rebel on Aldhani, Karis Nemik, compares Imperial control to a dam: 'It breaks, it leaks,' he says, predicting that rebellion will eventually flood the banks of Imperial tyranny. The Cailleach Bheara of Celtic folklore – a supernatural goddess who, legend has it, caused a flood atop Ben Cruachan to form the loch and river below – might well agree. I recall watching the teaser trailer for Andor in 2022. My eyes widened at the shot of rebels covering guns in places that looked familiar, and the scream of the TIE fighter as it careered low across the Cruachan Reservoir – a place I did know. In a following full trailer, which features a looming Imperial Star Destroyer gliding ominously over Glen Tilt, Cassian says the words 'You just walk in like you belong.' So I did. Visiting these places as part of a walking research project – using methods that foreground sensory experience and memory – revealed to me how deeply the Scottish setting is woven into Andor's narrative. These landscapes, with their romance, unpredictable weather and spectacular shifting of light, contributed to a powerful sense of place. Watching clips of Andor on location, I could hear these screaming TIE fighters, the march of Imperial boots, and the ritual chants of the Dhanis echoing in the glens. This wasn't just a viewing experience – it was anamnesis, an act of embodied remembrance of a place to which I had never been. The Highlands where Andor has been filmed (Image: PA) Wildlife, too, played a role in this sensory engagement. At Glen Tilt, I encountered red squirrels –hardy survivors in a country increasingly dominated by invasive grey squirrels. Their presence mirrored the Dhanis' own struggle to maintain an identity, or even just a presence, in the face of Imperial occupation. Similarly, the migration of Atlantic salmon up the River Awe in the shadow of Ben Cruachan evoked the Dhanis' pilgrimage to their sacred site, reinforcing the connection between nature and narrative. Read More: Authenticity emerges from this intersection of storytelling and place, and extends to the show's tone and characters. Andor dispenses with Jedi and Sith in favour of bureaucrats, labourers, farmhands and ordinary people navigating the complex everyday. Its aesthetic is at times closer to The Wire than The Phantom Menace, and its commitment to social realism is reflected in everything from its dialogue to its set designs. Colin Atkinson (Image: Colin Atkinson) Of course, authenticity is a slippery concept. What feels 'real' to one viewer may not to another. Perhaps, for some, Andor's commitment to a tactile, grounded, lived-in world feels 'less authentic' as a work of science fiction. However, as a Scottish person, and a Star Wars fan, the Highlands – with their landscapes and layered histories of displacement and resistance – provide the perfect stage for this kind of storytelling. And in doing so, they help to bring the galaxy far, far away a little closer to home. Dr Colin Atkinson is a lecturer in criminology and criminal justice at the University of the West of Scotland
Gizmodo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘Andor' Wanted Its Massacre to Do More Than Just Fill a ‘Star Wars' Lore Gap
The most impactful thing about the Ghorman Massacre in Andor season two is how it paints a true picture of what rebellion stood for by putting the audience in the shoes of the people assembled to defend their planet. In a grim yet hopeful episode, the Empire's control of the narrative begins to fall apart, showcasing the brutal violence meted out by Imperial forces against those who resist Palpatine's rule. Series creator Tony Gilroy and star Diego Luna gave more context about expounding on a key part of Star Wars history in a recent scene breakdown video for Variety. 'We knew we were going to be investing very heavily in Ghorman to build a world, a planet, a city like that, at that scale, you have to really use it. We knew that it would be a centerpiece of the show. It's a centerpiece in canon,' Gilroy stated. 'In the five years that I get to curate, it's a critical moment in the history of the rebellion. And yet it's very un-described. There was a mandate and a demand to do it, but there was no information about what it was, which is kind of the best thing for us.' He continued. 'The most challenging part for me was to try to calibrate the timing of everything and to try to calibrate where everybody is. When you do these kinds of scenes where you have lots of characters that you're trying to follow, trying to follow quite a few stories there, and this is almost real time what's happening.' Cassian is the audience's way in to witness how the Empire seizes a peaceful protest and incites the violence. 'We knew that the massacre would be taking place in a town square,' Gilroy explained. 'We also knew that we didn't want to do anything that looked or felt like anything that we had done before. We also wanted a prosperous planet. We wanted a place that was well off, politically connected, not an easy place for the empire to take down.' Production designer Luke Hull built a fully realized set for Palmo square, where the Ghor resisted the Empire's presence. 'It's not even just the architecture and the construction,' Gilroy shared about his collaboration with Hull. 'It's designing a place for the story and for what the directors are going to be able to make. Without really detailed instruction or mandate, Luke Hull gives us this absolutely astonishing little stadium to play in. He fits it into the aesthetic of what we've already built, and the cafe, and then the brocante shops that are around it, and the hotel. Before we ever got to the writer's room, we had a very good handle on Ghorman. The prep is three and a half, four months, and does not include the prep that Luke and I did before it even started the room. So I mean, this is a year-long project.' Even down to the anticipated face-off between Cassian and Syril, which unpacked the personal stakes between the show's diametrically opposed foes, Luna shared, 'Just the fight with Syril was two days and a half. We worked on that fight for, I would say, months. There was many different choreographies we did before. We all agreed on one [version of the scene] that Tony was really happy about and that explained the whole story, that the fight has to tell.' Luna continued. 'The beauty of Andor is that you can get so deep that you might forget you're in this galaxy far, far away. You are just in a place that actually exists.' Luna touched on the cyclical nature of how history mirrors art. 'That's the strength of that episode, that it's a massacre that feels like personal, it's happening. You're looking at it, and you go like, 'Shit, those are people suffering. Those are people being hurt' You know, that destruction is actually happening.'
The Star
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
‘Andor': A lesson in politics and hope
I AM no die hard Star Wars fan, and it is no secret that the franchise has struggled to find its footing in recent years. The sequel trilogy ended on a whimper (and that is me being generous), while its television offerings on Disney+ have seen more misses than hits. This is why Andor came as such a surprise. While I have always admired 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the idea of building a series around one of its secondary characters initially seemed like an odd creative choice. What emerged, however, is a gripping and quietly profound piece of television. Framed as a story of rebellion, Andor follows Cassian Andor's reluctant journey into the fight against the evil Galactic Empire. Spanning two seasons, the series begins with a search for his missing sister and gradually reveals how Cassian is pulled into something much larger than himself. This story stands out against the franchise's other projects because it does not follow a story of heroes or chosen ones. Instead, it explores how oppression operates not through spectacle, but through ordinary means such as bureaucracy, fear, and apathy. There are no lightsabers or space wizards here, just people navigating the slow grind of a system built to keep them compliant. As the series unfolds, it begins to feel unexpectedly familiar. The quiet control of the Empire and the divisiveness it sows among people mirrors very real events in the world. Keen-eyed viewers were quick to draw parallels between actions of the Trump administration in the United States and the Empire's obsession with controlling information and attacking established institutions. Andor is also the grittiest Disney offering I have seen in a while, which may not be the source of escapism expected from the brand. Particularly in season two, when an entire arc is dedicated to following how laws are used to silence dissent and punish communities for speaking out. As democratic backsliding is reported to be happening globally, it turns out that this galaxy far, far away isn't that far after all. Malaysia is by no means an authoritarian regime. Yet the emotional and political textures of Andor – the institutional inertia, the disillusionment with leadership, the persistent waiting for change – resonate with many young Malaysians. We have followed elections, hung on to campaigns promising reform, and felt the slow frustration of watching meaningful change falter or fade. What makes Andor so compelling is its honest depiction of how resistance begins. Cassian does not set out to fight for a cause. He is disinterested, even cynical. But over time, through personal losses and difficult encounters, he begins to shift. His transformation is not immediate or clean. It is gradual, shaped by relationships and exposure, and it reminds us that engagement often starts from a place of doubt. For many young Malaysians, this kind of evolution feels familiar. We, too, grew up during moments of political hope amidst calls for reform and promises of a more inclusive future. Some of that belief still lingers. At the same time, we have experienced political instability, unfulfilled promises, and the slow, uneven pace of institutional change. Andor reminds us that idealism needs more than passion. It also requires patience and the willingness to keep showing up even when the outcomes are uncertain. Another standout character in the series is Mon Mothma. In the original films, she appears as a confident leader of the Rebellion. In Andor, we see her as a politician trying to operate within a system that is slowly tightening around her. She cannot act openly, and so she learns to resist in quiet ways through negotiation, policy, and personal sacrifice. Her arc serves as a reminder that political change does not only happen in the streets. Often, it happens in rooms where no one is watching, and where every choice carries real consequence. What the series also captures well is how institutions operate. The Empire is not portrayed as a cartoonish villain but instead as a slow, indifferent machine. It relies on procedure, paperwork, and bureaucracy. This portrayal feels familiar. In our country, many young people are not frustrated by direct oppression, but by processes that feel unresponsive and systems that seem to preserve the status quo rather than challenge it. Andor does not offer a solution, but it does offer a perspective: systems don't shift on their own. People within them must choose to act, and often at great personal cost. Amidst all this, the show also cautions against romanticising resistance. One of the most memorable lines for me comes from Luthen Rael, a rebel strategist who confesses, 'I burn my life to make a sunrise I know I'll never see'. There is no glamour in that line, only realism. It reflects the emotional toll of long-term political work, especially when change feels out of reach. And yet, it is a reminder of leaders and activists who have paved the path for what we enjoy today. It offers clarity about what commitment can look like, even when rewards are not guaranteed. Andor may not have all the answers, but it presents a compelling way to think about politics. Rather than treating it as a fixed ideology or destination, the show portrays it as an evolving process. Political engagement becomes a movement from awareness to action, an understanding that disengagement is also a choice. In a climate where it is easy to grow tired or detached, the show suggests that participation, even in small or imperfect ways, still matters. Not because it solves everything, but because it is how things begin to shift. Andor teaches us Malaysians that the most meaningful changes often start quietly. They begin not with grand statements but with small acts of reflection, difficult questions, and the decision to pay attention. And most importantly, by choosing to stay engaged even when it would be easier not to. Student Jonathan Lee traces his writing roots to The Star's BRATs programme. He is now a Malaysian youth advocate. The views expressed here are solely his own.
Geek Feed
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Feed
The Internet's Best Reactions After the Andor Season 2 Finale
It's been a great run, but like any other series, Andor eventually had to end; and what a spectacular ending it had. The weekly release has been able to give way for great fan reactions every week, and now with the show ending, some fans have a lot to say about saying good-bye to Cassian and everyone else in the series; and while it is sad, that doesn't mean we can't have any fun with it. It's probably worth mentioning that Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) has come out as one of the MVPs on the show, and the final arc does give a lot of backstory as to her origin with Luthen and their journey to defeat the Empire. Cassian to the Rebel Alliance: — SirSnipeyy | Andorhypeguy (@SirSnipeyy) May 14, 2025 "There is no team. It's only her." Kleya Marki you are THAT GIRL. #AndorSeason2 #Andor — talli (@ttalliiaa) May 14, 2025 And while he is only a guest actor for this season, Ben Mendelsohn has managed to eat up ever scene he has as Imperial director Orson Krennic. #andor spoilers–––––––– i can't even explain half the shit krennic does bro wanted to go to julliard but his parents forced him into the military — lina 🌌 is SO back (@ambessasabs) May 14, 2025 // #andor spoilers•••• Krennic's finger on Dedra's head is taking me OUT this is the divaest a diva has ever divaed — Tali ! (@taliesart) May 14, 2025 There are also some who are just happy to see that Dedra finally got what was coming to her: #andor ......... ON PROGRAM, YOU FASCIST BITCH!!!! — christina of markyate stan account (@paisagoth) May 14, 2025 Even though she ended up losing it all Dedra lowkey ATE UP Luthen in the shop #Andor — Lalo 🍵 Andor sweep (@clonehumor) May 14, 2025 And of course, Mon Mothma finally got her pixie cut that she's been infamously sporting since Return of the Jedi introduced the character: you know it went something like this before they approached bail: 'you go talk to him.' 'no, you go.' '…let's just go together.' #andor — .• linds •. (@acosmiclove) May 14, 2025 mon mothma had her crashout pixie cut during the rebellion but then knew she had to lock back in and serve cunt again as chancellor — maxine ☽ ANDOR SPOILERS!! (@ahsokaskyber) May 14, 2025 And though he only appears in one scene, it's funny how the series goes full circle with just how paranoid Saw Gerrera had become: // #andor spoilers••Mon: Saw, we KNOW you're on Jedha. Saw: I COULD BE ANYWHEREMon: No, I'm not asking, I'm TELLING you we know. Saw: ANYWHERE IN THE GALAXY — Tali ! (@taliesart) May 14, 2025 Jokes aside, a lot of people have just been gushing about how the series actually harkens back (or foreshadows) Rogue One , and how everyone just felt like revisiting the film after finishing Andor . Tony Gilroy you will pay for this parallel #Andor — Nyrotike (@nyrotike) May 14, 2025 — Maximalist Epic Dude (@Maximalistepic) May 13, 2025 Even when Andor was first announced, nobody expected that one of the supporting characters from Rogue One was going to make for an interesting series, but Tony Gilroy managed to pull it off; delivering a Star Wars series that not only looked fantastic, but had such relevant themes that some say needed to be explored in today's day and age. We don't know if Star Wars will ever get something like this again, but hopefully the rave reviews will have Lucasfilm thinking twice before they make another season of The Mandalorian filled with all kinds of cameos and digitally youth-anized characters. Catch the complete second season of Andor now streaming on Disney+.
Los Angeles Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Andor' is very Latino-coded. Here's how.
Looking back, casting Diego Luna in 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' may well prove to be the single most consequential decision in that storied franchise's history. Hearing Luna's Mexican accent in a galaxy far, far away was not only refreshing. It was radical. And as Season 2 of 'Andor' proved, it set the stage for what has to be the most Latino-coded of all the 'Star Wars' tales, which is fitting considering this Tony Gilroy-created series was designed not just to explore Cassian Andor's backstory but flesh out the dashing revolutionary spirit Luna had brought to the character. What better place to, pardon the pun, mine for inspiration than the vast history of resistance and revolution throughout the American continent? Here are a few ways in which 'Andor' felt particularly Latino. Warning: this article contains some spoilers. Season 2 of 'Andor' found Cassian, Bix (Adria Arjona), Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) and Wilmon (Muhannad Bhaier) relocated to the agricultural planet of Mina-Rau. It's a place that served as a safe haven for these Ferrix folks, allowing them to be housed while working for a local farmer — all without papers. Yes, our very own Cassian is an undocumented laborer (when he's not, you know, on some super-secret Luthen-guided mission, that is). 'Andor' has always focused on the way the Empire functions at a granular level, while the 'Star Wars' feature film trilogies are all about big-picture stuff. In its two-season run, this Luna-fronted project followed the day-to-day lives of those living under the thumb of the Empire. And in the scenes at Mina-Rau, the show insisted on showing what happens when those with a semblance of power (a uniform, a weapon) confront those who they think have none. When Lt. Krole (Alex Waldmann), a lowly Imperial officer carrying out a run-of-the-mill audit of the crops in Mina-Rau, comes across Bix, he sees an opportunity. She's clearly alone. And, perhaps most obviously, at a disadvantage: She has no papers. If she's caught, the secure, if precarious, life she and Cassian have built in Mina-Rau will come crumbling down — all while putting them at risk of being revealed as smugglers and rebels. Still, watching Krole escalate his slimy sexual advances into a rape attempt was a reminder of the impunity of such crimes. When those who are undocumented are seen as undeserving of our empathy, let alone the protections the law is supposed to provide — like many people in our current government seem to think — the likes of Krole are emboldened to do as they please. Such ideas about who merits our empathy are key to authoritarian regimes. Borders, after all, aren't just about keeping people out or in. It's about drawing up communities and outlining outsiders; about arguing for a strict sense of who belongs and who does not. When Cassian and Bix land in Coruscant after their escape from Mina-Rau, they struggle with whether to just lay low. You see Cassian being jumpy and constantly paranoid. He can't even handle going out shopping; or, if you follow Bix's winking joke at the grocer, he can't really handle the spice. But that's expected if you constantly feel unsafe, unable to freely move through the world, er, tellingly: If your existence is wedded to bureaucracy, it's easy to be dispensed with and disappeared. Bix knows that all too well. She's still haunted by the specter of Dr. Gorst (Joshua James), the Imperial Security Bureau officer who tortured her. He appears in her nightmares to remind her that this is a war now littered with 'desaparecidos': 'His body won't be found and his family won't know what happened to him,' his hallucination taunts her. It's not hard to read in that line an obvious reference to those tortured and disappeared under the military dictatorships of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the like. Throughout 'Andor' Season 2, we also watched the Empire slowly rev up its border policing — especially when it came to Ghorman. At first a planet most known for its gorgeous textiles, Ghorman later became the anchor for the show's entire narrative. The best way to control a people is to surveil them, particularly because soon enough they'll start surveilling themselves. The beauty of 'Star Wars' has always been its ability to speak to its time. When the original film first premiered in 1977, echoes of the Vietnam War and anti-imperialist sentiment could be felt in its otherwise outlandish space-opera trappings. But not until 'Andor' could the politics of George Lucas' creation be so viscerally felt. This is a show, after all, that didn't shy away from using the word 'genocide' when rightly describing what happened in Ghorman. In 'Who Are You?' audiences got to see the Empire at its cruelest. Watching the Death Star destroy Alderaan from afar is one thing. But getting to watch Stormtroopers — and a slew of young, inexperienced Imperial riot police officers — shooting indiscriminately into a crowd that had just been peacefully singing in protest was brutal. It was, as Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) would later frame it, unconscionable. The chants in the crowd 'The galaxy is watching' are clearly meant to evoke the chants heard at the 1968 Democratic National Convention: 'The whole world is watching.' But the essence of the massacre harks back to another infamous 1968 event: the Tlatelolco massacre. Just like Ghorman, the Oct. 2 student protests at Mexico City's Plaza de las Tres Culturas began as a peaceful demonstration. But soon, with helicopters up above and an encroaching military presence from every which way, chaos followed and the incident has long served as a chilling example of state-sanctioned violence. The kind now best distilled into a fictional massacre in a galaxy far, far away. In the hands of Gilroy and Luna, 'Andor' billed itself over two seasons as the begrudging rise of a revolutionary. Cassian spent much of Season 1 trying to hide from who he could become. It took being sent to a grueling slave prison complex in a remote location (sound familiar?) to further radicalize the once-smug smuggler. But with every new Empire-sanctioned atrocity, he found himself unable to escape his calling as a member of the Resistance. Yes, it costs him his peaceful life with Bix, but neither would have it any other way. Cassian has a solid moral compass. And while he may not play well with others (with authority, really), he's a charming leader of sorts whose childhood in Ferrix set him up to be the kind of man who would sacrifice his life for a cause. You don't need to have Luna sport a mustache, though, to see in his rascal of a character hints of revolutionary icons from Latin America. Even if Cassian is more Emiliano Zapata than Pancho Villa (you'd never find him starring in films as himself, for instance), the revolutionary spirit of those historical Mexican figures is undeniable. Especially since Cassian has long been tied to the marginalized — not just in Ferrix and Mina-Rau but later still in Ghorman. Add the fact that his backstory grounds him in the indigenous world of Kenari and that he is quite at home in the lush jungles of Yavin IV (where he may as well be playing dominoes in his spare time) and you have a character who clearly carves out homages to resistance models seen all over Latin America. As attacks on those most disenfranchised here in the United States continue apace, 'Andor' (yes, a spinoff sci-fi series on Disney+!) reminds us that the Latin American struggles for liberation in the 20th century aren't mere historical stories. They're warnings and templates as to how to confront this moment. And yes, that message obviously works best when delivered by the devilishly handsome Luna: 'The Empire cannot win,' as his Cassian says in the first episode of the show's stellar second season. 'You'll never feel right unless you're doing what you can to stop them. You're coming home to yourself. You've become more than your fear. Let that protect you.'
