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Rogue One was “difficult”, but Diego Luna’s still proud of it

Diego Luna, the star of the new Disney Plus series Andor, opens up about his time and feelings during the filming of the 2016 Star Wars movie Rogue One

Diego Luna as Cassian Andor

Diego Luna is one of the brightest stars in a galaxy far, far away, having cemented his place in the Star Wars timeline in 2016 with the film Rogue One. The Star Wars movie, which introduced Luna as the Star Wars character Cassian Andor, a Rebel captain and intelligence officer, is one of the best movies in the franchise. But despite its success and critical praise, according to the actor, it wasn’t always the easiest flick to film.

Directed by Gareth Edwards, Rogue One is the immediate prequel to the 1977 film Star Wars: A New Hope, and follows the story of a band of rebels planning to steal the blueprints for the Death Star (aka, the ultimate weapon of the Galactic Empire). The flick was one of the highest-grossing films of 2016, earned two Academy Award nominations, and even spawned the recent Star Wars series, Andor – led by Luna himself.

Still, success comes at a price, and from the sounds of it, there was plenty of hard work dedicated to the non-Skywalker-centred movie that broke the typical formula of the franchise. In an interview with The Guardian, Luna recalled his time working on Rogue One, and how he stuck it out until the end.

“Making Rogue One was difficult, challenging and confusing sometimes. But films finish when they finish. I’ve been in so many projects where you think things are going exactly the way they should; then it turns out not to succeed,” he said. “The struggle of finding what each film needs, and how to do it, is unique. Every decision made in Rogue One ended up being right because I’m proud of the result.”

Luna explained how his most recent Star Wars project, Andor, feels like a spiritual successor to the movie Rogue One, as it is also a bold step into new territory for the beloved IP – that’s right, no Skywalkers again!

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“We don’t have to prove anything,” Luna said. “The characters exist in the grey areas. It’s about the journey of real people – the most real you can get in Star Wars. Their hopes are broken. Everyone is oppressed.”

“There is this feeling of ‘something needs to happen’. We know Cassian will become a hero, but we can challenge the idea that there is only one way. Fortunately, we work with a writer who lives in that kind of complexity.”

Fans can currently watch the first four episodes of Andor on the streaming service Disney Plus. For more sci-fi fun, here is our guide to the best alien movies of all time.