Rogue One: A Star Wars Story introduced multiple new and excellent characters to the Star Wars universe, but among the most popular were Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and his trusty reformed Imperial droid, K2SO, a.k.a. Kaytoo (Alan Tudyk). Star Wars is capitalizing on their popularity and the richness of Cassian’s character in an upcoming, still-untitled, live-action series that is set to start filming in 2020. It’s easy to overlook the show, between the upcoming 2019 series The Mandalorian and the newly announced Obi-Wan Kenobi series, but let’s give the Cassian show the hype (and theorizing) that it deserves.
The biggest thing I’m hoping for from the first season of the show is a “When Cassian Met Kaytoo” storyline. Cassian and Kaytoo’s friendship is key to the heart of Rogue One, with Kaytoo only listening to Cassian and caring mostly about his safety and his safety only. In the novelization, Kaytoo’s last thoughts are of a possible future in which Cassian survives the theft of the Death Star plans, which is heartbreakingly sweet. Having an emotional arc about Cassian meeting Kaytoo, reprogramming him, and the two starting their strange friendship would be deeply appealing to fans.
I’d also love to see flashbacks to Cassian’s childhood. He’s been in the fight since he was six years old, during the Clone Wars. Seeing Cassian grow into the man he is around the time of the series will give us context for his actions. We need to know what drives Cassian, in all its (most likely) tragic glory. It will deepen Cassian’s story in Rogue One if we know what happened to him to build up to that final sacrifice. Similarly, they need to let Cassian do horrible things in the name of the Rebellion. While I’m Team Cassian Did Nothing Wrong, he still has to commit some “terrible” acts, at least from his perspective.
The show should also lean heavily into the spy drama elements. Cassian is a spy, after all, and we haven’t had a straight up spy drama from a Star Wars project yet. Give me Cassian infiltrating Imperial bases, sneaking around, and being a total badass. Let him interact with various Imperials, and perhaps attract a Javert-esque Imperial Security Bureau agent who’s hellbent on tracking him down. More importantly, let him encounter some fan favorite characters like Mon Mothma as his mentor, and possibly Grand Admiral Rae Sloane as a villain.
Another character I hope Cassian encounters is Saw Gerrera, played by Forest Whitaker in nearly every iteration of the character’s appearance. The freedom fighter could be an interesting scene partner for Cassian, and it could set up why Cassian is hesitant to trust Gerrera. The timeline works out so there’d be no overlap with when Jyn was Gerrera’s ward, and it would be fantastic to see Luna and Whitaker battle it out over methods of gaining victory over the Empire.
And if they have a moment for any sort of fan service, let them give Bodhi Rook a quick cameo or a guest starring spot. Bodhi is the only Rogue One protagonist to not get any sort of tie-in material. Cassian has had comics, Jyn got a novel, Baze and Chirrut got a novel, and even villain Krennic has made canon appearances. Let Bodhi exist, damn it!
What do you want to see from the Cassian show? Are you as excited as we are? Let us know in the comments.
(image: Lucasfilm)
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