One Shot: The image that defines the cinematic ‘jigsaw puzzle' of ‘Andor' Season 2
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Gizmodo
16 hours ago
- Gizmodo
How the Casting of ‘Andor' Brought More Powerful Women to ‘Star Wars'
The extraordinary ensemble seen in Andor exemplified the best of Star Wars and brought more iconic heroes and villains to the franchise in two unforgettable seasons. Led by Genevieve O'Reilly, reprising her role as Mon Mothma, the women of the Disney+ series really carved out their legacies within the Lucasfilm universe. In a behind-the-scenes featurette for Andor, casting directors Nina Gold and Martin Ware discussed discovering the immense talents of the series' key leading ladies. Elizabeth Dulau was an utter revelation as Kleya Marki, a season two standout as Luthen Rael's right-hand spymaster. Gold described their search for Kleya: 'Obviously, Stellan Skarsgård is completely a genius. We needed to find someone to play Kleya, who [while] a young woman, could match him in authority and intensity and could go toe-to-toe with him in all situations, and [Dulau] really did that.' We'd have to agree with the sentiment because even when Kleya was no longer sharing moments with Skarsgård's Luthen, the actress shone in some all-timer scenes, in particular that fateful hospital mission. Ware knew that finding an equal to match Skarsgård was key for their storyline's eventual conclusion. 'With Stellan, because he kind of plays two parts in a way for quite a lot of the show, the gallery owner requires quite a lot of lightness of touch, and then he's got the darker side, so it was just finding…' Gold jumped in, '…Finding someone who could do that journey with him. She really had this inner command and real authority.' And it's one fans would love to see again if Gilroy ever revisits Andor's surviving characters. An Imperial baddie who we want to see get a bigger cinematic comeuppance is Denise Gough's Dedra Mero, the overachieving Empire social climber. Gold described the cutthroat villain as an 'evil mastermind.' Gough was cast after the casting directors saw her and co-star Kyle Soller on stage. 'This was a real amazing showcase for their brilliance on screen. Both of their characters have really gone through a full, really big journey to go from where they started, as she was a very impenetrable, authoritarian boss.' Ware complimented Gough's season two transformation. 'In season two, Dedra's character, we see her in a domestic setting. We see her at home. We see her dealing with Syril's mum. And loving Syril in her own very strange, peculiar way.' But of course her ambition leads her to abandon the simple fascist family life for bigger things that blow up in her face. Gold and Ware had their work cut out for them insofar as what Gilroy wanted for Cassian's romantic partner, Bix. Thankfully they found it all with Adria Arjona. '[As] soon as she did her first five words of her first audition, it suddenly became really obvious that it must be her.' Gold explained that Bix needed to be more than just a love interest and demonstrate that she too was a capable fighter within the rebellion, which Arjona easily handled. 'She had such an incredible mix of the other kind of strength and resilience of Bix and the vulnerability and willingness to go through this immense journey that Bix has to go through. She was one of the few people who we were able to get in the room to do a chemistry test with Diego [Luna], and again that just cemented it very clearly that they were really meant to be playing these parts opposite each other.' And we agree that Arjona and Luna's performances gave Andor its heart as well as the hope the show's lead sacrificed so much for. According to Ware, the casting process was shaped by both the script and Andor's creator. 'The script alone is so detailed and precise about character and intention that it's quite easy for us to start thinking about brilliant actors to bring them to life. But then Tony Gilroy also would love to talk about other thoughts he had on the characters before we headed out there making lists and auditioning actors.' Gold added that Gilroy's input along the way really brought out what the galaxy needed in its heroes and villains to serve the incredible overarching story Andor brought to our screens. 'It was fascinating because Tony's interest in character is so detailed and wonderful, and he's very flexible in his thinking,' Gold said. 'When he sees something in an actor that's not necessarily the thing that he'd originally thought, he's quite happy to make some changes in his thought process if it seems the right thing to do. And also the writing is so appealing to actors because it is so interesting and good.' The trio don't even round out the rest of the supremely talented actresses showcased in Andor, but the galaxy is a better place because of them, that's for sure. Watch the clip below! Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Mon Mothma's Senate speech, annotated: Inside the year's most powerful monologue
Confronting an authoritarian strongman about his war crimes, Mon Mothma's address to the Galactic Senate sees the future leader of the Rebel Alliance throw down the gauntlet against Emperor Palpatine. But drafting the rousing climax of her political evolution left Dan Gilroy, the writer of 'Andor's' Emmy-nominated episode 'Welcome to the Rebellion,' with a daunting task: 'This is a wildly historic speech in the 'Star Wars' canon, so there was always an imperative of anybody who touched it that this really needed a tremendous amount of thought and care.' Gilroy recently joined The Envelope via Zoom to annotate the four-minute oration. 'The speech that Mon's giving here has two audiences,' Gilroy says. 'The first group are these craven elected officials who have abandoned their posts and left their constituents at the complete mercy of evil. She's condemning them. The second group she's speaking to are the galaxy's infinitely diverse inhabitants. Because Mon understands that the goal of unbridled authority is to make people feel helpless. To break them, to make them believe that resistance is something futile without chance of success.' Measuring just 269 words — three shorter than the Gettysburg Address — and featuring this allusion to the 16th president's first inaugural, Mon's speech draws inspiration from Abraham Lincoln as well as President Kennedy, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, Gilroy says. 'Those speeches just have a ring to them. They have a gravitas to them, they have a wisdom to them, they have timeless sense of theme to them.' 'When you're looking at Mon, and I know [actor] Genevieve [O'Reilly] believes this deeply, you're looking at somebody who's overcome their human frailty and their primal desire to survive,' Gilroy says. 'She is an apostle of sorts. She has reached a point where her time has come. Fate's knocked on the door; she doesn't know if she's going to get out of this alive, but she's going to transmit to the world what she believes.' Gilroy points to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazis' minister of propaganda, as a real-life analogue to those in Emperor Palpatine's employ who are devoted to manipulating the truth. 'It's almost like mass hypnosis,' Gilroy says. 'They're putting you to sleep. They're lying to you with bigger and bigger and bigger lies, and you stop sort of paying attention. So Mon's trying to wake people up from that lethargy that's been created by this dictatorship.' Mon's intake of breath before the speech reaches its crescendo is purposeful, Gilroy says: 'She needs to come in and communicate in a modulated way. It takes tremendous effort. Genevieve really displayed that — she's almost trembling at first, to control herself. ... The bravery really builds, the bravery really climaxes, and the bravery is defined.' 'Andor,' on which Dan collaborated with brothers Tony and John, reflects Gilroy family history. Their father, who was among the troops who liberated the Ohrdruf concentration camp in Germany in 1945, taught his sons that such crimes against humanity are not to be forgotten, whitewashed or ignored. Comparing this moment in the speech to 'accusing Hitler of genocide in the Reichstag,' Gilroy suggests the term remains contentious to the present day because authoritarian regimes 'will vehemently and violently combat anyone trying to say what they're doing is anything other than righteous': 'Mon knows that this word is radioactive. And for her to use it, she is signing her death warrant. If they catch her, she will be executed for that word.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Simon Kinberg cites Andor as his inspiration for the new Star Wars trilogy
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's been a while since a story gripped Star Wars fans with the same intensity as the one involving Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) had to tell. Now, after his prequel series ended on its incredible second season, another creative in the galaxy far, far away has spoken out about the impact it left on him and his plans for the future. Speaking to Nerdtropolis about his untitled Star Wars trilogy, Kinberg talked about other stories that we'll see before his finally gets revealed. 'There's a ton of wildly talented folks that want to do great work,' Kinberg said. 'I was super inspired and just sort of awestruck by what Tony Gilroy did with Andor. I thought that was about as good of science fiction storytelling as you can do in any franchise.' Looking to that Emmy-nominated show as a stepping off point should certainly reassure fans and suggest that he has something exciting stored away, but even now it sounds like he's still in the "pinch-me" phase of the process. 'It's not even a dream come true—I couldn't have dreamed it,' he explained. 'Just to be told there'd be more movies would have been unbelievable. To be allowed on the set of any of them was already a dream. My enthusiasm only grows with working on and around it." While there's minimal detail on just what Kinberg's planned trilogy will include, what we do know is that it'll take place after the events of Rise of Skywalker. Kinberg will both pen and produce the new trilogy, which is confirmed to see the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker. Use the force and check out every other Star Wars project coming down the pipe here. Solve the daily Crossword
