Star Wars: Rogue One Prequel TV Show Begins Production October 2019

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The Rogue One prequel TV show starring Diego Luna's Cassian Andor is set to begin production in October 2019. Announced earlier this year, the series is the second live-action program Lucasfilm is producing for the Disney Plus streaming service - alongside Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian (which is currently filming). With The Americans' Stephen Schiff onboard as showrunner, the Rogue One show will look to further flesh out the earliest days of the Rebel Alliance, telling stories with an espionage twist.

Since the project is still in the earliest stages of development, not much is known about it at this point in time - including when it'll get in front of the cameras. The Star Wars show isn't the only small screen gig Luna has on his schedule, seeing that his Netflix series Narcos: Mexico was recently renewed for a second season. At the time the Rogue One prequel was unveiled, it was expected it wouldn't shoot until later in 2019 due to Luna's Narcos commitment. Now, there's a more concrete timeframe.

According to Production Weekly, the Cassian Andor show is scheduled to begin filming in October 2019.

Should this information pan out, it would put the Rogue One prequel on track for a premiere at some point in 2020. Additionally, Lucasfilm will have the better part of a year to iron out the show's supporting cast. So far, Luna is the only confirmed actor, but that will surely change in the near future. It'll be interesting to see who else the studio recruits; it wouldn't be out of the question for Alan Tudyk to return to the fold as fan-favorite droid K-2SO (considering his dynamic with Cassian), and there will definitely be plenty of new faces introduced to the canon. Lucasfilm has a knack for securing top-tier names for their films and TV shows (as evidenced by The Mandalorian's star-studded ensemble), so keeping tabs on who's joining the Rogue One show should make for a fun activity in 2019.

While Rogue One received positive reviews and grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, one common complaint amongst viewers was a perceived lack of character development. At least in regards to Cassian, the show should amend that problem in spades, since it will have multiple episodes (and perhaps multiple seasons) to showcase more of the character. Rogue One made several allusions to Cassian's morally complex past - where he sometimes did questionable things in the name of a good cause. Hopefully, his TV show will be a valuable addition to the Star Wars lineup and complement the movie nicely.