{"id":775914,"date":"2026-07-03T06:29:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/775914\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T06:29:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:29:54","slug":"everything-we-learned-from-the-art-of-star-wars-andor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/775914\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything We Learned From &#8216;The Art of Star Wars: Andor&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By George &amp; Josh Bate<\/p>\n<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"568\" height=\"539\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/images-20.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18606\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Official <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sw_holocron\" rel=\"nofollow\">Star Wars<\/a> art books always rank among our favorite releases from a galaxy far, far away in a given year. The extraordinarily detailed books offer unprecedented access behind the scenes of Star Wars movies and shows. Filled to the brim with beautiful concept art, detailed descriptions of production, and tidbits about scrapped ideas and hidden details, Star Wars art books consistently enhance one\u2019s appreciation for the movies and shows they are based on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abrams Books recently published The Art of Star Wars: Andor, which is described by writer Dan Gilroy in the book\u2019s afterword as \u201cthe definitive behind-the-scenes exploration of the making of Andor.\u201d The book, which is written by Star Wars veteran Phil Szostak, chronicles the making of both seasons of Andor from beginning to end with astonishing detail and profound insights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Having read The Art of Star Wars: Andor and immersed ourselves in every page of its rich writing and illustrations, we\u2019re breaking down everything we learned from the new book, including hidden details, Easter Eggs, scrapped ideas, production information, and more.<\/p>\n<p>Details of Andor Before Tony Gilroy\u2019s Involvement Are Revealed<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/andor_s2_online_trailer_2_uhd_r709f_stills_250320.087910-1-1024x426.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18635\"  \/>Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in Lucasfilm\u2019s ANDOR Season 2; exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm. \u00a92025 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book provides an overview of Jared Bush\u2019s original pitch for Andor. Bush currently serves as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and is best known for co-writing and co-directing Zootopia and Zootopia 2. He also wrote the screenplays for Moana, Moana 2, and the upcoming live-action remake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bush\u2019s proposed names for the Andor show were \u201cStar Wars: Alliance\u201d and \u201cStar Wars: Andor Five.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check out a full overview of Bush\u2019s original pitch for Andor <a href=\"https:\/\/theholofiles.com\/2026\/07\/02\/the-original-pitch-for-andor-sounds-amazing\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Rogue One was \u201cthe Greatest Movie Gamble of All Time\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/star-wars-rogue-one-jyn-cassian-beach-ending-death-1252176-1024x431.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18636\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The heroic crew of Rogue One all perish during the Battle of Scarif. After successfully transmitting the Death Star plans, Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor are killed by the superlaser\u2019s shockwave. Their companions\u2014including the droid K-2SO, Chirrut \u00cemwe, Baze Malbus, and Bodhi Rook\u2014are all gunned down or killed by explosions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rogue One\u2018s ending was quite the daring creative call from Lucasfilm given that few, if any, major blockbusters conclude by killing all of their main characters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was the greatest movie gamble of all time,\u201d says Tony Gilroy about Rogue One and the fact that all the protagonists die at the end.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andor represented an interesting challenge for the creative team as the fate of its lead character is decided and widely known prior to the very first episode. The art book notes: \u201cAs filmmaker Orson Welles observed, \u201cIf you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.\u201d As necessitated by the sequel trilogy of films, life went on for Star Wars\u2019 legendary original trilogy heroes Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo. But even they could not escape their own mortality. And so, life goes on for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How Tony Gilroy Aimed to Make Andor An Entirely Different Star Wars Story<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/PGM-098497_R-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18616\"  \/>(L-R): Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna on the set of Lucasfilm\u2019s ANDOR, exclusively on Disney+. \u00a92022 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The opening paragraph of Gilroy\u2019s manifesto for Andor reads: \u201cThe design must crush. Must be fresh and forward. Highest bar. Take the visual SW\u2019s canon and pervert it into something real. That\u2019s the goal here: Mad but real.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Series creator Tony Gilroy identifies that \u201cmania\u201d is the \u201csecret weapon\u201d that made Andor as great as it was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMania was our secret weapon,\u201d Gilroy describes in his foreword. \u201cMania plus time and resources. Targeted mania. Hive-mind mania. Mania with a deadline that required focused decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Star Wars Rebels Informed the Logo for Andor<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"665\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/images-21.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18617\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The original Andor logo envisioned by Tony Gilroy and Luke Hull was an \u201canti-Imperial, pro-rebel graffiti painted on the brick walls of Ferrix.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Artist Baz Gingell designed the logo for the series and was aware of its similarities to Sabine\u2019s symbol from Star Wars Rebels.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image11.png\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18618\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI found it difficult to ignore the bird notion set up in Star Wars Rebels with Sabine\u2019s phoenix,\u201d explains Gingell. \u201cBut I saw this symbol as more of a dangerous talon than a sweeping bird. It\u2019s a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hidden Details, Production Information, Scrapped Ideas, and Easter Eggs from Season 1<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first season of Andor was internally known as \u2018The Education of Cassian Andor.\u2019 \u201cHe\u2019s a nobody,\u201d Gilroy says. \u201cHe\u2019s a disillusioned, very unhappy nobody. [But] there\u2019s a knock at the door. The consequences just keep coming. And the revolution, and the machine, and the Empire \u2013 there\u2019s just no escape.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Young Cassian was described as \u2018Mowgli-esque\u2019 by Tony Gilroy. Mowgli is the protagonist of The Jungle Book.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/andor-story-gallery-ep-1-10_d3c2161a-1024x429.jpeg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18619\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The original plan was to film Kenari, Cassian\u2019s world of origin, in French Guiana or Thailand, but COVID travel restrictions made them film on Black Park behind Pinewood. This is where Mustafar and Ajan Kloss in The Rise of Skywalker were filmed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony Gilroy wanted to cast a little girl to play Cassian\u2019s sister who could play the character for a while so that she could feature in \u201cpotential dream sequences\/memories in [the] future.\u201d Ultimately, this idea did not come to fruition and Cassian\u2019s sister only appeared in flashbacks.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/kerr-main_5a7c7f62-1024x576.jpeg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18620\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Rebel leader Anto Kreegyr is played by artist Baz Gingell. \u201cWho\u2019s the biggest Star Wars fan that we have?\u201d asked Gilroy. \u201cOh my god, that\u2019s easy. That\u2019s Baz!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cassian\u2019s tribe is awestruck by the \/Republic crew like the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Concept art of Cassian\u2019s adoptive father Clem seems to be based on Vikings actor Travis Fimmel.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vikings-star-travis-fimmel-reveals-his-motive-for_t57h.1280-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18621\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Production designer Luke Hull explains why Tony Gilroy \u201cput together a team of people where Star Wars didn\u2019t necessarily come first.\u201d \u201cYou don\u2019t realize how much it makes people behave slightly strangely, as well,\u201d Hull explains. \u201cIt brings baggage. You have to respect Star Wars, for sure. And you have to understand it. But I also think it\u2019s a shame if you don\u2019t try and do something bold with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cassian\u2019s pistol was inspired by the Bryar pistol from Star Wars: Dark Forces.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"596\" height=\"335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/images-22.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18622\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The aesthetic of Morlana One was inspired by Blade Runner and In the Mood for Love.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The jukebox in the Morlana One brothel is a \u201cpimped-up version\u201d of the cantina droid detector from A New Hope.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A scene involving Syril was deleted from Season 1. \u201cWhen he\u2019s on the ship flying to Ferrix, the bigger officer in charge hands Syril a gun for the first time, in pieces,\u201d Martyn Doust explains. \u201cSyril never really had a weapon. So, the officer takes it back off him, puts it all together, and then hands it back to Syril.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The control panels of the Pre-Mor base in Season One were inspired by the control panels on the disused and dusty base on Crait in The Last Jedi.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pre-Mor ship is an intentional homage to the Republic gunship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The light effects on B2 were iPhones built into his body, which were then controlled by another iPhone on set.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/PGM-002511_R-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18623\"  \/>(L-R): Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and B2EMO in Lucasfilm\u2019s ANDOR, exclusively on Disney+. \u00a92022 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">B2 is voiced by Dave Chapman, who also puppeteered B2\u2019s head during filming and did the head movement on BB-8 in the sequel trilogy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team made an entire scaled map of Ferrix, planning out all of the geography and buildings of the location.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Little Mermaid inadvertently influenced the production of Andor. \u201cOut of my window, every day in my [Pinewood[ office, Little Mermaid had the whole everything in the back there,\u201d Gilroy explained in referring to the backlot where Jakku village and Maz\u2019s castle in The Force Awakens, Jedha City in Rogue One, and the Kessel landing area in Solo were designed. \u201cRight out my window. But we couldn\u2019t have it. So I just found it incredibly frustrating that we were going to go to Marlow and couldn\u2019t be there.\u201d Instead, the site of the former Little Marlow Sewage Treatment Works in Buckinghamshire was scouted as a potential home for Ferrix. \u201cIt was just this flat piece-of-shit land. It was really far away. It was near a garbage dump. It was flat, and it wasn\u2019t big enough. I was like, \u2018You gotta be kidding me, man\u2019 I was really depressed at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mermaid-Main.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18624\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gilroy never got to visit Ferrix due to COVID restrictions. \u201cIt just sucks. I know every street [of Ferrix]. I know every corner. I know every piece of it. But I never went there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ferrix was inspired by the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">B2\u2019s sturdy, planted pose was inspired by Looney Tunes\u2019\u2019 Butch\/Spike<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">B2EMO was named after Tony Gilroy\u2019s son Sam\u2019s dog, a corgi named Bemo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">B2\u2019s design was also influenced by sliding puzzle games, Transformers toys, and multi-tools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maarva\u2019s house was inspired by 20th century Italian American architect Paolo Soleri, particularly Arcosanti, the ecologically experimental town built in central Arizona.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The engines made for Bix\u2019s shop in Season 1 were reused in Season 2 for the Yavin hangar.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The anvil for the bell tower on Ferrix was scripted as being made of beskar.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/andor-props-the-ferrix-hammer-an_30c15739-1024x429.jpeg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18625\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Luthen\u2019s ship was designed to \u201cfeel like it was made by the same factory that made the [Millennium] Falcon,\u201d says Luke Hull.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony Gilroy proposed an aesthetic for Coruscant that had \u201cnon-Marvel funk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHow do we take that aesthetic I was talking about on page one and deliver that to an environment like this that\u2019s gonna constantly want to pull you in a cheesy direction?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019d need The Lower Depths and High Society.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019d want non-Marvel funk and non-soapy, wealth-porn slick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019d want it vibrant but blemished. Crazy, credible, and fascinating. How to make these rooms and faces and decor \u2013 how to make it feel\u2026. Real? \u2013 Lived in and lush?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How do you make it felt like someone built it? Someone cleans it? How do you make it feel like it goes off the frame?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, it\u2019s got to be designed with a capital \u201cD\u201d and trippy with a big \u201cT\u201d \u2013 and yes it\u2019s Star Wars\u2019s, but if we\u2019re gonna live here for five years, it\u2019s got to be alive. It\u2019s got to have some error in it. I want an audience inside the story, not watching it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How do you get all that and avoid the cliche sci-fi chiaroscuro -\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony Gilroy is candid about his distaste for how Coruscant was depicted in previous Star Wars series. \u201cThe only piece of Coruscant that I liked, that really felt like it could be part of our show, was the bit that Gareth [Edwards] shot with Ben Mendelsohn and Mad Mikkelsen, a brief little flashback in Rogue,\u201d explains Gilroy.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/PGM-FF-001000-1024x429.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18626\"  \/>(L-R): Kloris (Lee Ross) and Mon Mothma (Genevieve O\u2019Reilly) in Lucasfilm\u2019s ANDOR, exclusively on Disney+. \u00a92022 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team took advise from Amy Henning, creative director of the Uncharted games, who was once developing the scrapped underworld video game Star Wars: 1313. \u201cDon\u2019t put weird on weird\u2026. You don\u2019t want to put a crazy camera move in a fantastic environment, because then you have two levels of weird on top of each other. And the fantastic environment becomes less believable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Carrie Fisher Building at Lucasfilm headquarters is now \u201cjust full of all Andor stuff,\u201d says Rebecca Aleway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Props from The Goonies, Labyrinth, Prometheus, Indiana Jones, Clone Wars, and Rebels were frozen in carbonate blocks and included in the background of Luthen\u2019s shop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Concept art of Perrin appears to resemble Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd, whose father Stellan plays Luthen in the serial.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/images-23.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18627\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ISB conference room bears similarities to Dr. Stangelove.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heert was originally conceived as a blue-skinned alien, perhaps a Chiss like Thrawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The kitchen unit for Eedy Karn\u2019s apartment was based on Ralph McQuarrie\u2019s Wookiee kitchen design for The Star Wars Holiday Special.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"549\" height=\"364\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/images-24.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18628\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Gilroy\u2019s mind, Luthen Rael\u2019s powerful speech to Supervisor Jung was a \u201ccri de coeur,\u201d a cry from the heart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An AK-47 was the basis for one of the weapons used by Vel\u2019s crew in the Aldhani heist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The device housing Marek\u2019s manifesto was inspired by a Sanyo walkman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kristofer Hivju, who played the fan-favorite Wildling leader Tormund Giantsbane in Game of Thrones, was used as the basis for concept art for the leader of the Aldhani locals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"783\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/images-25.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18629\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Niamos was designed \u201cas a strip of land, like a band around the whole planet. Like Dubai, it was really built up and had beaches on both sides,\u201d says Luke Hull.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The production design team drew inspiration from the kitchen sink in the Lars homestead in A New Hope to craft the appliances in Cassian\u2019s hotel room in Niamos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The blasters wielded by the troopers on Niamos are pistol variants of an E-11, the blaster that Boba Fett uses.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prison transport on Niamos is a variation of the Imperial dropship from The Mandalorian Season 2.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tony Gilroy and Luke Hull decided that Andor should take place almost exclusively in the light of day, a contrast to the frequent use of the dark in Star Wars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The design of the Narkina 5 prison drew inspiration from George Lucas\u2019 THX 1138.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The final day of principal photography on Andor Season 1 was when the Narkina 5 prisoners ran and jumped for their lives into the water.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/34i7o60to0je1-1024x522.png\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18630\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Concept art from the Narkina 5 prison reveals that the prisoners were originally not all going to be human. For instance, a Mon Calamari can be spotted as one of the prisoners in concept art by Carr.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The quadjumper that Melshi and Cassian steal to escape off world from the Narkina 5 planet is the same kind of quadjumper that Rey and Finn were going to use to escape Jakku before it was blown up by First Order TIE Fighters in The Force Awakens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saw Gerrera was originally created by George Lucas for his unfinished\/unproduced live-action television series Star Wars: Underworld. Lucas\u2019 original plan was to include Saw in an episode of The Clone Wars to \u201cplant story seeds that would later pay off in his live-action series.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/PGM2-FF-004802-1024x429.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18631\"  \/>(L-R) Saw Gererra (Forest Whitaker) and Mon Mothma (Genevieve O\u2019Reilly) in Lucasfilm\u2019s ANDOR Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm. \u00a92025 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The double beam laser of Luthen\u2019s ship was inspired by the spinning blades that come out of James Bond\u2019s Aston Martin tires in Goldfinger and the one-off laser weapon in the Japanese garden fight at the end of Iron Man 2.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Season 1 of Andor features approximately 3,800 VFX shots.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Delays in The Acolyte production meant that various behind-the-scenes crew had to step back from Season 2 to work on Leslye Headland\u2019s Star Wars series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The headset used to torture Bix drew inspiration from Lobot\u2019s headpiece in The Empire Strikes Back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The music played during Maarva\u2019s funeral was played live on set by performers during filming.<\/p>\n<p>Hidden Details, Production Information, Scrapped Ideas, and Easter Eggs from Season 2<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The production team\u2019s nickname for Cassian\u2019s home on Yavin was Chez Andor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andor Season 2 featured more creatures than Season 1 due to fans\u2019 response that the first season did not have enough aliens\/creators, according to Neal Scanlan.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/BA_Andor2_01_PGM2-127963_R_Jul25.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18632\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The basis for the TIE Avenger was Kylo Ren\u2019s TIE fighter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The inside of the TIE Avenger was based on Flight of the Navigator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regarding the reveal that the planet Cassian is on with the Maya Pei Brigade is Yavin, Gilroy said, \u201cWe were going to make it some random planet at one point. [I asked], like, \u2018Can I do this? There\u2019s nothing there before that point?\u2019 [Pablo Hidalgo] goes, \u2018Not really. Not canonically.\u2019 I go, \u2018Okay. We can be in Yavin.\u2019 That\u2019ll be a Twitter moment, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The crops on Mina-Rau were real and planted a full year before filming began.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mina-Rau is inspired by a place in China called Luoping County, an eastern Yunnan province north of Vietnam known for its vast fields of bright yellow canola surrounding hundreds of dark karst hills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/andor_s2_online_trailer_2_uhd_r709f_stills_250320.087264-1-1024x426.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18633\"  \/>Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) in Lucasfilm\u2019s ANDOR Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. \u00a92025 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The SAG-AFTRA strikes meant that filming for the Mina-Rau sequences was delayed. To preserve the crops, the team spent months putting them in eight-by-four sheets of polystyrene and stored them in the Bond stage at Pinewood.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agricultural droids on Mina-Rau were originally designed for The Force Awakens.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shots of Brasso on a speeder were captured in-camera. Brasso sat on a practical bike and foreground grain was placed in between cameras and whipped by.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brasso\u2019s speeder bike was inspired by bikes from Easy Rider.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mountain range in the background of Chandrila was added later on to be consistent with how the planet was depicted in Marvel Comics\u2019 2024 Battle of Jakku comic book series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A creature who attended Leida Mothma\u2019s wedding is named Gony Tilroy, a spoonerism of Tony Gilroy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The COMPOR (Commission for the Protection of the Republic) logo seen during Krennic\u2019s meeting with Imperial officials about Ghorman includes a hidden Sith symbol.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sith2_720.png\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18634\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saw Gerrera and his crew are located on D\u2019Qar in Season 2, because the location they shot at in Season 1 could have collapsed at any moment. With two weeks\u2019 notice, the team was forced to quickly find a replacement for Saw\u2019s base and landed on D\u2019Qar. They filmed at Greenham Common, which was once a Royal Air Force airfield and station that housed ground-launched nuclear cruise missiles for 11 years, starting in 1980.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The big statues in front of the Senate Building on Coruscant do not appear in the show as the shots of the Senate Building are meant to be from the other side of the building.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can say that they have not yet spotted them all,\u201d says Tim Wildgoose regarding Easter Eggs in Luthen\u2019s gallery in Andor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gorst\u2019s torture chair in Season 2 was a converted barber\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Dathomirian skull is among the artifacts in Sculdun\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe [Lina Soh Medical Center] was incredibly controversial. There were a lot of struggles with the hospital and some very unhappy meetings about it while I was in London,\u201d says Tony Gilroy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naboo in the Kleya flashbacks were shot where the deleted waterfall sequence on Naboo in The Phantom Menace was filmed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ghorman was inspired by Mecca and Medina. \u201cThere\u2019s an Islamic formalism to some of the design of the city, and you don\u2019t want it to be Europe. It\u2019s not a European city, at all,\u201d says Gilroy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The outdoor Ghorman backlot set was previously used for the climactic duel between Rey and Kylo Ren on the wreckage of the second Death Star in The Rise of Skywalker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dan Gilroy envisioned the ninth episode of Andor Season 2 as a \u201cself-contained horror story, in which a KX unit gets trapped inside a Yavin-bound tanker and begins hunting down its rebel occupants. <a href=\"https:\/\/theholofiles.com\/2026\/07\/02\/new-star-wars-book-reveals-details-of-scrapped-k-2so-horror-episode-of-andor\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read more details about the episode here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/PGM2-FF-000474_A-1024x429.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18603\"  \/>K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) in Lucasfilm\u2019s ANDOR Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm. \u00a92025 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">K-2SO\u2019s birth coincides with Bix Caleen\u2019s departure from Yavin, which parallels the simultaneous birth of the Skywalker twins with the loss of Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The freedom fighters on Ghorman were inspired by the French and Italian resistance in World War II.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hard drive cartridges used by the Ghorman resistance were based on a Nintendo NES cartridge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Season 2 featured approximately 4,100 VFX shots, up from the first season\u2019s 3,8000.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"436\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6056f518-7bf4-4ec3-b26d-3afe1f068519_1920x817-1024x436.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18637\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rig that holds K-2SO as he is \u2018birthed\u2019 was inspired by the laboratory table that held Frankenstein\u2019s monster in James Whale\u2019s Frankenstein (1931), which also inspired by the medical slab upon which Anakin was sealed in Darth Vader\u2019s mask in Revenge of the Sith.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dan Gilroy says the team had a \u201chunger to redefine what Star Wars can be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A scrapped plotline from the series would have revealed that Perrin Fartha was aware of his wife Mon Mothma\u2019s allegiance to the Rebellion but ultimately chose not to intervene.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"568\" height=\"539\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/images-20.jpg\" alt=\"Art of Andor\" class=\"wp-image-18606\"  \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By George &amp; Josh Bate Official Star Wars art books always rank among our favorite releases from a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,134,344],"class_list":["post-775914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}