‘Star Wars: Andor’: Forest Whitaker Returning As Saw Gerrera From ‘Rogue One’

“Save the Rebellion! Save the Dream!” That’s right. “Star Wars” fans are in luck. According to an interview in the Swedish media, fan-favorite character Saw Gerrera, played by Forest Whitaker, is returning to the “Star Wars” universe in the upcoming “Andor” series.

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Stellan Skarsgård plays a role in the “Star Wars: Andor” series, a prequel show to the 2016 movie “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (itself a prequel to “Star Wars: A New Hope“) and in a new interview with Swedish radio station Sverigesradio.se, the actor revealed he had shot a “juicy scene” (the translation is iffy) opposite, Forest Whitaker. This confirms recent rumors that Whitaker had been seen on set and fulfilled the hopes of many fans that wanted to see Whitaker return.

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Now, obviously, Whitaker’s character died in “Rogue One,” much like all of the principal cast of the “Star Wars” movie. But “Andor,” which centers on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and the Rebel Alliance freedom fighters, is a prequel set in the years before the events of that film and tracks Andor’s ranks in the Alliance as a rebel spy in the war against the evil galactic empire.

READ MORE: ‘Cassian Andor’: Adria Arjona Cast As A Lead In ‘Rogue One’ Prequel Series

Gerrera first appeared in the animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” series as a resistance fighter. However, the trajectory of the character was a rebel who soon turned to a more radical and guerilla level of fighting against the fascist empire. He soon parted ways with the Rebel Alliance; his methods essentially too unsound and too unethical for their tastes.

Gerrera’s band or Rogue rebels also took in Jyn Erso when she was a teenager, and that lead to the events of “Rogue One,” Erso’s father being the architect of the Death Star and the Rebel Alliance trying to verify a message he sent with the plans to destroy the space station.

It’s unclear how far in the past “Andor” is set. Still, it’s believed to be around the same time of “Star War: Rebels,” another animated series set before “Star Wars: A New Hope” centering on new members of the Rebel alliance that also featured Saw Gerrera (this time retroactively updated in his animated appearance to mimic that of Whitaker who even voiced the character on the show).

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“Star Wars” fans had been hoping that Gerrera would cross paths with the Rebels again, a character generally seen as “on their side,” but constantly meddling in their affairs against the fight against the Empire, a classic antihero, if you will. Surely, this will lead many to hope Felicity Jones could reprise her role as Jynn Erso, the star of “Rogue One.” but the timelines likely don’t meet up. The Erso/Gerrera teenage years are set likely 5-7 years before the events of “Andor” if the speculation of when the show is set is correct. There’s a lot of crossover in this pre-“A New Hope” era. A character like Ahsoka Tano also appeared in “Star Wars: Rebels” during this period, so it’s possible Rosario Dawson could appear as a much younger version of this character if the show runs into multiple seasons. Or at least fans will hope. I also wonder how much this piece means to anyone who doesn’t know “Star Wars.” Bor Gullet will know the truth!

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As for how much of a role Skarsgard has in “Andor,” a Reddit user, aprentize, translated the interview and said the actor will likely appear in at least one scene per episode and mostly appears opposite Luna in the series. “Andor” was created and showrun (remotely) by Tony Gilroy, who wrote, directed, and oversaw much of the extensive reshoots on “Rogue One.” The series stars Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O’Reilly. Toby Haynes (“Black Mirror“) is one of the directors on the series, and 12 episodes are expected to premiere sometime in 2022.

READ MORE: ‘Cassian Andor’ Series: ‘Utopia’s Toby Haynes Takes Over Directing Duty From Tony Gilroy Over COVID-19 Concerns

[the audio is below, but you’ll need to speak Swedish to understand it]