Stellan Skarsgård is no stranger to blockbuster movies, and after a stint in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we'll next see him in Denis Villeneuve's Dune and Star Wars TV series Andor. The former required him to sit for eight hours in the make-up chair to play Baron Harkonnen, but the actor recently told The Daily Beast that it was worth it in order to work with the filmmaker.
Well, it turns out he had a similar reason for signing up to the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story spinoff.
While we don't know who - or what - he'll be playing in the series, Skarsgård has revealed that the opportunity to work with showrunner Tony Gilroy was a huge part of why he chose to head into a Galaxy Far, Far Away.
"When I saw Rogue One, it had much more atmosphere and seemed a little more mature - and that was Tony Gilroy, who’s the showrunner on this one," the actor explained. "So, hopefully this one will be a little more than little plastic people falling over."
He doesn't sound like the biggest Star Wars fans, then, but Skarsgård seems confident that Andor will be a break from the direction the franchise usually heads in (even if the series is likely to see plenty of Rebels vs. Stormtroopers action). Still, it's nice to know that we're getting a series that will seemingly have more to it than just nonstop action scenes as we explore Cassian's early days in the Rebellion.
As for Gilroy, he took charge of Rogue One during the reshoots that reshaped the movie, which makes him something of a natural fit for this show. He was supposed to direct as well, but travel issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant the filmmaker had to pass on that side of things.
We'd be willing to bet that Skarsgård is playing a villain in Andor, but even though a cast list has been revealed, we're still not entirely sure who is playing who in this corner of the Galaxy.
Are you excited for the Disney+ series?