Diego Luna On His Super Secret Audition For ‘Rogue One’: ‘It Was The First Time Such Secrecy Happened Around Anything I Was Going To Be Part Of’

This story about director the visual effects design of “Andor” first ran in the Drama Series issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.For Disney+’s “Andor,” an erudite elucidation of the prequel universe first seen in the film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” visual effects supervisor Scott Pritchard took things back to basics in real locations, despite having technology that in 1977 might have made George Lucas Vader-breathe with envy.“I’m very much of the opinion that first and foremost, we’re storytellers,” Pritchard, who first joined ILM with 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” said. “We’ve got to drive the story forward.

Just as he redefined the legal drama with the Oscar-winning movie Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy has made arguably the most serious Star Wars streaming series to date in Disney+/Lucasfilm’s Andor, which is steeped in the binary of a burgeoning morose utilitarian empire that’s dominating the denizens of the universe.

This story about Andy Serkis and “Andor” first ran in the drama issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Andy Serkis was already a part of “Star Wars.”Thanks to the magic of performance capture, the actor starred as Snoke, the gnarled heir apparent to the evil Galactic Emperor, in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” So it was a surprise when Serkis, in human form, popped up in “Andor,” Tony Gilroy’s live-action prequel series to 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”Serkis plays Kino Loy, an inmate in an Imperial prison that is also holding Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor. Loy is a gruff enforcer who is slowly radicalized by Andor and his escape plan.

Star Wars series Andor was supposed to feature the franchise’s first ever F-bomb, but it ended up being refused by Disney.Created by Tony Gilroy, the series takes place five years before events in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) becomes involved in the mounting resistance against the Galactic Empire.It is the fourth live-action series set in the Star Wars universe, following The Mandalorian, The Book Of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi.In a new interview with Variety, director Benjamin Caron revealed that the show was set to feature an F-bomb in a crucial scene, but the request ended up being turned down by Disney.In the scene, Cassian’s late adoptive mother Maarva Andor delivers a speech via hologram, which ends: “Fight the Empire!”As Caron revealed, the initial script instead had her saying: “Fuck the empire!”“Disney wouldn’t let us use it,” he revealed. “So we changed it to ‘Fight the empire.’ I remember having a call with Tony Gilroy saying, ‘Are we gonna get away with this?’”The director added how he “wrote a legal brief” to Disney encouraging them to let them use the word.

Star Wars‘ Andor series on Disney+ was meant to include the franchise’s first ever F-bomb.

Sometimes there is no greater thrill than taking a gigantic risk and being rewarded for it. In many ways, that’s what Tony Gilroy, Diego Luna and the cast and crew of “Andor” have experienced over the past year.

Neil Young, 77, is hitting the road for the first time since 2019.However, the former Buffalo Springfrield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young singer will be mixing things up for his ‘Coastal Tour’ taking place exclusively in California, Oregon and Washington this July.At all 13 upcoming acoustic gigs, the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee will be performing songs he’s never played live before according to the Neil Young Archives.That doesn’t mean he’s just playing new stuff — just not “Heart of Gold” which he doesn’t want audiences to compare to how he sounded singing the classic tune live in 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020.

Hayden Christensen and Diego Luna are opening up about their careers.

Hayden Christensen and Diego Luna have never met, but as Christensen puts it, they’ve occupied the “same galaxy” for years. Christensen rocketed from teenage obscurity in Canada when George Lucas cast him as Anakin Skywalker for 2002’s “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones” and 2005’s “Revenge of the Sith,” which chronicled the young Jedi’s transformation into the iconic villain Darth Vader. The Mexican-born Luna — who rose to prominence in Alfonso Cuarón’s 2001 coming-of-age masterpiece “Y tu mamá también” — joined “Star Wars” for 2016’s “Rogue One,” a prequel about the band of rebel spies, led by Luna’s Cassian Andor, that steal the plans for the Death Star.

Mark Hamill is opening up about whether he’d be open to returning to a galaxy far, far away to revive his most iconic screen role.

Mark Hamill is ready to hang up his lightsaber for good. In a new interview with "CBS Sunday Morning," the "Star Wars" star said he’s happy with his legacy as the character, but content to be done with Luke Skywalker. "You know, I had my time, and that’s good.

Mark Hamill is opening up about whether he’d be open to returning to a galaxy far, far away to revive his most iconic screen role.

Jon Burlingame Music has always been an integral part of the “Star Wars” universe, dating back to the John Williams scores for the original movie trilogy. So will Emmy voters recognize one, two or all three of the recent “Star Wars” TV series in the scoring categories? Vying for consideration: the 12-part “Andor,” with music by Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated Nicholas Britell (“Succession”); the six-part “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” with a new theme by Williams and score by English composer Natalie Holt (“Loki”); and the eight-part third season of “The Mandalorian,” with music by Joseph Shirley. All aired on Disney+. Britell spent more than two years on “Andor,” the backstory of “Rogue One” hero Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), including several months creating music that was played on the set during filming – from the Time Grappler’s hammer-banging signals on Ferrix to the alien electronica in the clubs on Morlana and the amateur funeral band playing a dirge for Cassian’s mother in the finale.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Mark Hamill’s days as Luke Skywalker are basically over. During an interview on CBS News’ “Sunday Morning,” the “Star Wars” icon said the franchise no longer needs the hero who helped make it a worldwide phenomenon. “Well, you never say never, but I just don’t see any reason to,” Hamill said about reprising the role of Luke Skywalker. “Let me put it that way: I mean, they have so many stories to tell, they don’t need Luke anymore. I had my time, and that’s good. But that’s enough.” Hamill was the face of George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” trilogy alongside Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. He returned to the role decades later at the very end of 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and he was a key character in 2017’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” That film ended with Luke’s death, but Hamill returned as a Force ghost in 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” and then played a younger Luke via motion capture and de-aging visual effects in “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett.”

This story about “Obi-Wan Kenobi” first appeared in the Limited Series/Movies issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine.“Obi-Wan Kenobi” seems like the kind of no-brainer, easy layup, slam dunk that is conceived quickly and executed even more quickly. We’re talking a limited series from Disney+ and Lucasfilm that followed the titular Jedi (played, once again, by Ewan McGregor) in the lonesome time between the prequels and 1977’s “Star Wars: A New Hope.” But it was not so fast and easy. In fact, for years, McGregor had no idea if he’d ever play the wise mentor again.

Marvel Studios has released its first set pic for the upcoming instalment of its first Avengers film, “Captain America 4”.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The nominations for the Emmys are still weeks away. But there’s growing excitement in the Latino community as multiple lead actors continue to look well-positioned to receive deserved recognition. Two of the top contenders in the lead drama actor race — Pedro Pascal as the hardened survivor Joel from HBO’s apocalyptic video game adaptation “The Last of Us” and Diego Luna as the rebel hero Cassian in the “Star Wars” prequel series “Andor” from Disney+ — are Latino and star in buzzy sci-fi and fantasy series. Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Emmy predictions in all categories.

Mark Hamill never believed that he had a shot at becoming the voice of the Joker on Batman projects.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director While Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix and Jack Nicholson are the faces that pop into one’s head when the name “Joker” is said, no list of the best on-screen Jokers is complete without Mark Hamill. The “Star Wars” icon voiced the Batman villain on “Batman: The Animated Series,” which originally aired for 85 episodes on Fox Kids from 1992-1995. Hamill earned acclaim for the voice role, but it would have never happened without Michael Keaton’s casting as Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 comic book film. As Hamill recalled during a recent Wired video interview, Keaton’s casting as Bruce Wayne/Batman earned backlash from comic book fans, considering he was more known as a comedic actor in films such as “Mr. Mom” and Burton’s own “Beetlejuice.”

With the announcement of three new Star Wars movies being made coming from Celebration, Fans are asking the big questions. When it was said that Rey would be getting another movie for her story many were surprised. With how much the Sequels divided the fandom it seemed like a low blow by Disney to add more wood to that fire.