Diego Luna Reveals The Andor Scene That Made Him Cry
Diego Luna revealed that he cried during the funeral scene for Maarva Andor.
Diego Luna, the actor who plays Cassian Andor in both Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and its Disney+ prequel series Andor, cried on-set during Andor’s season 1 finale. In an interview with Collider, the actor admits that he couldn’t stop himself from crying during the funeral scene for Maarva Andor, his character’s mother. Luna said that the tears came as creators played audio from her hologram’s emotional speech as Cassian walked through Ferrix’s underground passages to rescue Bix Caleen, who had been captured and tortured in an attempt to find out more about the burgeoning rebellion.
According to Diego Luna, the music before Maarva Andor’s funeral speech made him think about the deeply personal relationship between Cassian and his mother. He said that his mother’s words set Cassian on the path toward taking on the empire and eventually playing the pivotal role seen in Rogue One.
The scene features cuts between the funeral, which was broadcasted to a large crowd on the surface, and Diego Luna’s performance as Cassian Andor in the passages below. Imperial officers try to control the crowds as Maarva’s hologram calls for rebellion, calling the Empire a “disease that thrives in darkness” and telling the crowds to fight them. The result is a riot against the imperials, who attempt to stop the funeral and quell the crowd. The explosion of a bomb brings further chaos, and stormtroopers open fire on the crowd.
The tears aren’t shown in the show, and Diego Luna said that he didn’t want Cassian Andor to cry in that scene, though it was highly emotional. If his character is going to break down and cry, Luna explained, it will happen later on.
Diego Luna’s performance in Andor meshes well with the series’ darker themes. It explores the human cost of rebelling against a powerful enemy. Cassian’s friends, family, and allies all pay a high price in the quest to undermine Imperial rule, with no guarantee of success. To shoulder on while suffering so many losses for so few gains requires a strength of will that is reflected in Luna’s troubling portrayal of Cassian.
When looking at the series as a whole, it’s easy to see how Diego Luna has helped Andor become the best Star Wars project in recent memory. Its exploration of the history of the rebellion, which has so far been glossed over in all the movies besides Rogue One, gives the universe more depth than has been seen in other series.
Unfortunately, neither the fantastic storytelling nor Diego Luna’s mastery of his character has helped Andor gain success. Its premiere had the worst ratings out of any Star Wars show, and although its viewership has seen improvement as the series continued, it still hasn’t reached the same heights as other Star Wars projects.
Diego Luna will return in Andor’s second season, which was set to begin filming at the end of November. It remains to be seen whether the series will gain enough of an audience to convince Disney to renew it for a third season.
