Andor went the practical route instead of filming with the groundbreaking StageCraft technology used for previous Star Wars shows.
After years of criticism in regards to the excessive use of green screen in the Star Wars prequels, Lucasfilm went with more practical effects when they relaunched the franchise with the sequel trilogy. Years later, Lucasfilm pushed digital filmmaking technology forward with StageCraft, which was initially used on The Mandalorian. The technology is an evolution of green screens, with large LED video walls displaying environments.
StageCraft has become a major tool used on the Disney Plus Star Wars shows and has also been adopted on films such as The Batman and Thor: Love and Thunder. While it was remarkable at the time, there has been some criticism of how it’s been used in recent projects such as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Andor‘s ‘Old-School’ Feel
Andor is the next Star Wars series up from Lucasfilm, and a stunning new trailer dropped earlier today. While speaking with Empire, showrunner Tony Gilroy shared that the StageCraft technology wasn’t used on Andor:
“Yep, we’re old-school. We didn’t use StageCraft at all. It’s a choice that looks set to add even more grit and earthiness to a series all about capturing that texture, set at a time when the Star Wars galaxy is a particularly dark and dangerous place to be.”
Fiona Shaw is best known for playing Aunt Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter series and will make her Star Wars debut as Maarva in Andor. Shaw admitted she was blown away by the practical effects in the series:
“Everything is mechanical. You’re interacting with real stuff. My character’s house is built from parts of old spaceships. I used to go out and just stare at it. Breathtaking.”
Diego Luna also added that while it was great to film on sets, one shooting location was dangerous to get to:
“In Pitlochry, Scotland, we had to walk for hours up a mountain to set up one shot. Huge effort. Really dangerous to get there. All you can see around you is sky, trees, rivers, lakes. Amazing! Like being on another planet.”
Diego Luna first appeared as Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Here is the synopsis for the film:
Former scientist Galen Erso lives on a farm with his wife and young daughter, Jyn. His peaceful existence comes crashing down when the evil Orson Krennic takes him away from his beloved family. Many years later, Galen becomes the Empire’s lead engineer for the most powerful weapon in the galaxy, the Death Star. Knowing that her father holds the key to its destruction, Jyn joins forces with a spy and other resistance fighters to steal the space station’s plans for the Rebel Alliance.
Directed by Gareth Edwards from a screenplay co-written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy based on a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta, Rogue One stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is available on Digital HD, Blu-Ray, and DVD, while Andor will hit Disney Plus on September 21, 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news on Diego Luna’s Andor, and subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more great video content!
Source: Empire
