Built on an ever-expansive lore, Star Wars boasts a live-action production history going back decades. While a majority of those movies fall into three trilogies – original, prequel, and sequel, Lucasfilm has also produced standalone films and TV shows. Curiously, two such projects of the latter category, both starring Diego Luna, went on to sit among the highest-rated and fan favorites, while also finding recognition from the saga’s veteran star, Hayden Christensen.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a 2016 movie directly leading into the events of the first Star Wars film and its prequel series, Andor, made huge splashes among fans of the connected universe for its mature storytelling. Moreover, a bit of that splash also got carried over to Christensen, who did not shy away from heaping praise over Luna and his acting skills, leading to a heartwarming exchange.
Hayden Christensen spells his love for Rogue One and Andor
Hayden Christensen became a crucial part of Star Wars with his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader in the prequel trilogy. Yet, even his anticipated return decades later for the same roles in Obi-Wan Kenobi failed to hold itself against the high-rated acclaim for the Diego Luna starrer, Andor. Thus, in a June 2023 Variety interview featuring the two, the former declared “Andor is so successful”.
Going about their days in the franchise, the talks also had the Darth Vader actor marking Luna’s Star Wars debut film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as “one of my favorite Star Wars films”. The statement was enough to have the Mexican star go all smiles and chuckle “Oh, man!” in true fanboy spirit.
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Christensen further continued acknowledging Andor’s importance to the Star Wars saga.
And Andor is so successful, too. It’s a great origin story for the beginning of the rebellion and getting to see the arc of your character and how he starts off at this place where he doesn’t really want anything to do with any of this. He just wants to keep to himself. But his destiny is calling.
The biggest highlight throughout this sweet note was Christensen’s appreciation for Diego Luna’s character, Cassian Andor, and his evolving arc that would see him go from a morally ambiguous thief to a major sacrifice player in the 2016 flick.
Fans go gaga over Diego Luna finding his Star Wars fanboy moment with Hayden Christensen
In terms of being a part of the Star Wars universe, Hayden Christensen is not only senior to Diego Luna by more than a decade but has also played one of the franchise’s most iconic characters.
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Thus, his praise of the Andor star had fans immediately take note of the exchange and count it as an authentic appreciation of talent. Moreover, several counted the actor’s luck in being praised by Darth Vader himself.
In the same conversation, Diego Luna also shared the secret that during the filming of Rogue One, there floated a joke of letting people know of Cassian’s journey. Little did he know that it would not only come to life with Andor but also go on to become the highest-rated live-action Star Wars TV production. As of now, Disney plans to end the show with its upcoming second season despite plans for at least five iterations.
Andor and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story are streaming on Disney+.
Frequently asked questions
What did Hayden Christensen say about Andor and Diego Luna?
During Variety’s 2023 Actors on Actors conversation between the two stars, Christensen praised the series, saying “Andor is so successful, too. It’s a great origin story for the beginning of the rebellion,” and called Rogue One “one of my favorite Star Wars films.” He admired Luna’s character arc, noting Cassian Andor starts as someone who “doesn’t really want anything to do with any of this.” The article reports Luna responded with enthusiastic smiles and a chuckle.
How are Andor and Rogue One connected, and where can I watch them?
Andor is the prequel series to the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, following Cassian Andor’s arc from a morally ambiguous operative to a key figure in the early rebellion. Diego Luna stars as Cassian in both projects. According to the article, both Andor and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story are available to stream on Disney+.
How many seasons of Andor are there, and is it ending?
The article reports that Andor concludes with its second season, despite the story originally being pitched as at least five seasons. It also notes that Andor became the highest-rated live-action Star Wars television production, with its critical acclaim exceeding that of other recent Star Wars shows such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which Christensen also starred.
