With the news of Hayden Christensen reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader in the upcoming “Kenobi” and “Ahsoka” Disney+ live-action series, it seems that another famous name might be making a return to a galaxy far, far away.
According to a recent rumor, Andy Serkis might be making a return to the “Star Wars” universe. He played Supreme Leader Snoke in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” where he met a shocking end when he was cut down – literally – by his apprentice Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
The rumor says that Serkis has been cast for a role in “Andor,” which is the prequel series to the 2016 standalone film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” The film, set just before the events of “A New Hope,” saw a cast of rebels banding together in order to steal the Death Star plans for the Rebel Alliance.
Although all of the characters meet a grisly fate at the end of the film, “Andor” is going to rewind time and take a look at Cassian Andor’s life before he took on his last mission.
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So What Is ‘Andor’ About?
Created by Tony Gilroy, “Andor” is set to explore the adventures of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) five years before the start of “Rogue One.” Luna is not only set to reprise his role, but he is also one of the show’s executive producers, along with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
Also making a return is Alan Tudyk, who voiced Andor’s sarcastic droid sidekick, K-2SO. Genevieve O’Reilly will also reprise her role as Rebel Leader Mon Mothma.
Other members joining the cast are Stellan Skarsgard, Denise Gough, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, and Kyle Soller. There are rumors that Forest Whitaker will make a return as freedom fighter Saw Gerrera, but those rumors have not been confirmed.
Although the first episode is slated to air sometime in 2022, fans don’t have any details as to what the show will be about. A brief synopsis reads, “Set five years before the events of Rogue One (2016), the series follows rebel spy Cassian Andor during the formative years of the Rebellion.”
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So How Does Snoke Fit Into This?
It’s not exactly clear how Supreme Leader Snoke would be making an appearance before the events of “A New Hope,” but not much is known about Snoke’s origins.
Current theories suggest that he was created by the Sith Eternal on the Sith world of Exegol as a product of the many cloning experiments started by Emperor Palpatine.
At the beginning of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” several Snoke clone bodies can be spotted floating in a tank that Kylo Ren walks past on his way to confront Palpatine. Similar bodies can also be seen in tanks during a season 2 episode of “The Mandalorian,” although it has never been confirmed whether or not these were early experiments that eventually led to Snoke’s creation.
Cloning is not a new concept to the “Star Wars” franchise, but to have Serkis reprise his role as the head of the First Order would be at odds with the current timeline.
If Serkis does make a return, it’s more likely that he will be playing a different character. Serkis is best known for his motion-capture acting, which has brought to life characters such as Gollum from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Caesar in the “Planet of the Apes” trilogy.
Even if Serkis does appear as a new character, Luna still teased plenty of recognizable faces in the new series.
“You’ll definitely see familiar faces,” Luna shared. “I can tell you about this project like no other because I can’t spoil the ending if you’ve seen [Rogue One] already. No matter what I say, I can’t ruin the ending.”
