‘Rogue One’ Spin-Off Series: Tony Gilroy Out As Director, Replaced By ‘Black Mirror’ Helmer Toby Haynes
Tony Gilroywill no longer direct theRogue One: A Star Wars Storyspin-off streaming series for Disney+. Instead,Black MirrorandDoctor WhodirectorToby Haynesis stepping in to take the reins behind the camera on the upcoming show, which featuresDiego Lunareprising his role as Rebel spy Cassian Andor. Get the details below.
Deadline reports that Gilroy is out as director – but whereas many behind the scenesStar Warsshakeups over the past few years have been contentious, this one at least sounds like a scenario that had less to do with clashing visions and much more to do with the coronavirus. According to Deadline, “Gilroy was forced to drop off as director due to COVID-19 related travel reasons. Gilroy lives in New York and had to make a decision quickly on whether he would head over to the U.K. for the shoot and in the end thought it would be best that he stay in New York and have Haynes take over his directing duties.”
Haynes will now direct the first three episodes of the series, while Gilroy is staying “very much involved” as theshowrunnerand executive producer. Haynes directed the beloved “U.S.S. Callister” episode ofBlack Mirror, aBrexitTV movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as multiple episodes of bothDoctor Whoand Amazon’s upcoming remake ofUtopia. He also directed one of my favorite episodes of the BBC’sSherlockseries: season 2’s “The Reichenbach Fall,” which featured a particularly memorable face-off between Sherlock and Moriarty.
The still-untitled Cassian Andor show has been described as a spy thriller, and we know that it’s set in the early days of the Rebellion, long before Jyn Erso and her ragtag band of misfits led the charge to steal the Death Star plans in 2016’sRogue One: A Star Wars Storymovie. (It had to be a prequel because, as you know, Cassian does not survive the events of the film.)Adria Arjona, whose credits include6 UndergroundandPacific Rim: Uprising, has been cast opposite Diego Luna as the female lead. (She might be playing Cassian’s sister, although there’s still no confirmation on that.) They’ll be joined byDenise Gough,Genevieve O’Reilly,Stellan Skarsgard, andKyleSoller, whileAlan Tudykwill return to reprise his role as Cassian’s droid pal K-2SO.
Pre-production on the show is currently underway and filming is set to begin next month.
