#Forest Whitaker Will Return as Saw Gerrera in Rogue One Disney+ Prequel Series Andor

Forest Whitaker returns as Saw Gerrera in the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story spinoff series Andor. Just one of many Star Wars projects in development at Disney+, Andor will primarily follow Diego Luna reprising his role as Cassian Andor, the character he played in Rogue One. As a prequel, the series is set in the years before the events of the movie, serving as an origin story for Cassian Andor while delving into the early days of the feud between the Rebellion and the Empire.

At this time, production is underway on Andor, though Disney is holding back on divulging more information. It wasn’t entirely clear which other actors might be coming back from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but it did seem likely others would be involved. It was previously reported that Genevieve O’Reilly, who played Mon Mothma in Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One, is on board to return. A set video leak also seemed to confirm the return of Duncan Pow as Ruescott Melshi.
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Now, it appears Forest Whitaker is the next returning cast member to get involved. In a recent interview on the Swedish radio station Sverige Radio, Andor actor Stellan Skarsgard spoke about his Star Wars debut in the upcoming series. During the interview, Skarsgard claimed that he shared some “juicy scenes” with Whitaker, revealing that Forest has already been on set for his return as Saw Gerrera. He added that he shared “at least two good” scenes with Whitaker.

Tony Gilroy serves as showrunner on Andor. Alongside Diego Luna, the cast includes Alan Tudyk, Stellan Skarsgard, Kyle Soller, Genevieve O’Reilly, Fiona Shaw, and Denise Gough. Stephen Schiff was previously set to serve as showrunner, but stepped back for Gilroy to take over the creative direction. Schiff still serves as a writer for the series alongside Gilroy’s brother Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler) and former House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon.

Andor is one of many Star Wars projects in development at Disney+ following the smash success of The Mandalorian, which currently has a third season in development. The spinoff The Book of Boba Fett has also just recently wrapped up filming its first season, and the animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch aired its final season 1 episode this month. Meanwhile, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, which is now filming, will bring back Ewan McGregor to play the fan favorite Star Wars character.

Along with Rogue One, Whitaker’s lengthy movie career includes turns in titles like Platoon, Panic Room, The Crying Game, and The Butler. His more recent credits include Black Panther, Finding Steve McQueen, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. Whitaker also co-starred with Johnny Depp in the crime mystery movie City of Lies, which was just released this year after years of delays. The actor also has a role in the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, which is due out on Aug. 13.

Andor is scheduled to be released on Disney+ in 2022. An official premiere date for the 12-episode series hasn’t yet been set. This news comes to us from TheDirect.

Topics: Rogue One, Star Wars