From Andor to Ahsoka, there were plenty of rumours to explore last month. Here are all the major ones you need to know, summed up in my Star Wars leaks update for April!
ANDOR
Andor continues to be the most slept-on upcoming project - despite an appealing premise and apparently, some ambitious long-term plans - with usually no major rumours or news surrounding it. However, we got some very interesting reports about the series in April. Let's see what Andor has in store for us...
Future seasons!
A reliable source has disclosed when Andor season 2 will begin filming. We already knew a season 2 was in the works, thanks to an interview with actor Stellan Skarsgard (who will also appear in season 1) but there's now cause to believe that the new season will begin filming in November of this year.
The shoot will be at Elstree Studios in England and will run for a whole eighteen months. This is a huge amount of time to film a TV season, even factoring in that Andor will be the lengthiest live action Star Wars series so far; season 1 will be 12 episodes in total, but its shoot was half the time, finishing after 9 months. In their article covering the rumour, Bespin Bulletin speculates that this is because seasons 2 and 3 will be filmed back-to-back.
In addition to this rumour, in April we learned from Adriano Goldman - director of photography on Andor - that the series was originally planned to be 5 seasons, but plans seem to have changed. Andor News on twitter translated a interview on Brazilian channel TV Cultura, where Goldman says:
“The series I worked on was supposed to be 5 seasons long but I think it’s not happening, it will have 3 (seasons) maybe.”
It's not certain that he's referring to Andor here, but people who have taken a look at his upcoming projects believe it's the most likely option. It lines up with Bespin Bulletin's claim that the series was very deliberately set 5 years before Rogue One, so the potential for 5 seasons was there.
Creator Tony Gilroy or others in charge of the show may have decided the story they're telling is ideal for 3 seasons, and that they don't want to needlessly stretch it out. Of course, if Andor is a huge hit, Disney may revert to the original plan for 5 seasons, but only time will tell. No matter how long it ends up being, I think it's a very positive sign that Lucasfilm have ambitious, long term plans for Andor, and I can't wait to start watching it when season 1 releases later this year.
Who we'll see in season 1
Youtube content creator Star Wars Meg recently shared an exclusive scoop in this video, claiming that Mas Amedda will appear in Andor's first season.
Seen in the prequel trilogy, The Clone Wars and many Star Wars comics over the years, Mas Amedda was the Grand Vizier of the Empire and one of the closest advisors of Emperor Palpatine. He led the Imperial Ruling Council, managing most of the Empire's affairs, and was a highly important figure in the chain of command. If Cassian Andor and fellow rebels are up to something which gets his attention, their mission must be very important.
Amedda hasn't been in live action since 2005, so it'll be nice to see his return to the medium - complete with extensive makeup and prosthetics, of course. In the prequels, two different actors took turns playing him: Jerome Blake and David Bowers. I'm interested to see if one or both of them will return to the role.
Accompanying this rumour was a report from Bespin Bulletin that the iconic red-cloaked Imperial Royal Guards will be in Andor also. Mas Amedda and the guards tend to come as a set, and they're usually found on Coruscant. That's an exciting prospect to me: Coruscant is one of my favourite Star Wars planets, and excluding The Clone Wars' final season and a blurry window view in Rogue One, film and TV projects made under Disney have sadly steered clear of it. That's all about to change, since it's confirmed to appear in The Bad Batch season 2 (as covered in last month's Rumours Abound article) and will most likely be realised in live action once again in Andor - if these rumours are true.
Since Mas Amedda and the Royal Guards can almost always be seen by Palpatine's side, I can't help but wonder if the Emperor himself will be showing up in season 1. Despite some mounting evidence, for now, my assumption is no: I'm expecting Andor to be a smaller-scale story, with no need to involve traditional big bads such as Vader or Palpatine. There is another series he could appear in, however...
Obi-wan Kenobi
Major plot spoilers for Obi-wan Kenobi continue to surface online, and even I've avoided them! If you want to check those out, the Star Wars Leaks subreddit is a good source, but I've chosen not to cover them here. Instead, there's an intentionally vague but no less exciting leak I'd like to talk about.
Right at the very end of April, Ian McDiarmid attended the Imperial Commissary Collectors Convention (ICCC) and was asked about whether he would reprise his role of Emperor Palpatine. According to a reddit post, he had this to say:
“There’s a certain show coming soon set right around the time I may have considered to be very active. Whether or not you will see my physical body, I cannot comment on. But you will certainly feel my presence.”
I thought I would put this in the section for Obi-wan Kenobi, as that's my bet for the "certain show" McDiarmid is referring to. We already know that the search for Obi-wan will be high profile, with bounty hunters, Inquisitors and even Vader getting involved. It's very likely that a scene or two will depict Vader speaking with the Emperor - perhaps in the final episode, to report that his former master has escaped once again. McDiarmid's cryptic comment about seeing his "physical body" might mean he will appear in a hologram, which seems likely.
Of course, there are other options for where Palpatine could appear. Ian McDiarmid could be in Andor after all - perhaps at the Imperial senate chamber with Mas Amedda, or broadcasting a message to the galaxy. Showing Palpatine in the seat of power at Coruscant would certainly make his "presence" loom large over the series. Alternatively, McDiarmid could have done voice work for The Bad Batch season 2 - which would mean we wouldn't see his physical body, exactly.
All three of these shows are set during the Imperial era, so all three could potentially accommodate the Emperor. It's fun to theorise and guess where he'll show up, but for now only one thing is for sure: somehow, Palpatine will return...
AHSOKA
At the time of writing, the Ahsoka series has only just started filming. However, as Lucasfilm geared up for the start of production in April, there were a couple of new things we learned. Let's take a look.
Temple ruins
Although the series mostly still remains shrouded in mystery, we now have our first look at a set from Ahsoka. Courtesy of Bespin Bulletin, here is a set photo from a train yard filming location which seems to depict the ruins of some kind of temple.
The light, sandy colours make me think this is a Jedi temple, rather than a Sith one such as Malachor. It looks like it was destroyed long ago, with the rocky walls eroded over time. The legs of a statue, which are abruptly cut off, might indicate that the temple will be much taller in the series: since the set is only as high as the actors, I'm guessing the rest may be filled in with cgi. It's also interesting that this is a real, constructed set, as opposed to one in the Volume. While some shows such as Andor opt for practical sets as a creative choice, others need to use real locations when the Volume won't cut it - take The Mandalorian chapter 14, for example, where filming was on uneven surfaces and over a wide area. It's not yet clear why this set has to be out in the open, but perhaps there will be a big action scene here.
This photo isn't much to go on, but it excites me anyway. When we've visited ancient temples in the past (Lothal or Malachor in Star Wars Rebels, for example) all sorts of unexpected, magic stuff has gone down. Temples can be naturally strong in the Force, and that means there's potential for characters to experience visions there. This one might end up playing a small part in the Ahsoka series, but until we start getting trailers, I'll take what I can get!
Disappointing casting news
After Twitter user @MyTimeToShineH shared that casting for Thrawn is done for the Ahsoka series (a safe bet anyway, to be honest) Jordan Maison quote retweeted it to say: "Last I heard, it's NOT the voice actor (Lars Mikkelsen)."
Lars Mikkelsen voiced Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels and has long been a popular fan cast for the role in live action. Many people, including me, think that the eerily cool voice he provided was one of the best parts of the character's portrayal in Rebels, and it would be a shame to lose that in his next appearance. What's more, Lars Mikkelsen looks the part, and has even played a live action villain (Charles Augustus Magnussen) from Sherlock Holmes - one of the biggest inspirations for Thrawn.
Jordan Maison has been pretty reliable in the past, but this rumour seems very surprising to me. Lucasfilm aren't totally averse to casting the original voice actors when bringing animated characters to live action, proven when Katee Sackhoff appeared as Bo Katan in The Mandalorian. In this case, it's because the voice actor was a prolific actor for live action as well; since the same can be said of Lars Mikkelsen, I don't know why the same logic wouldn't apply. Perhaps even more importantly, there have been rumours from multiple sources in the past that Thrawn will be played by Mikkelsen, and fans have made no secret of how popular this casting choice is. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but this is one rumour I actually don't believe is true.
VISIONS SEASON 2
Our final major rumour from April also comes from Jordan Maison, and this one I'm hoping IS true! Writing for Cinelinx, Maison claims that a season 2 of the anime anthology Star Wars Visions is coming later this year.
"Not only is Star Wars Visions 2 in the works (and pretty much has been since the first season hit), but it is set to arrive THIS YEAR. The timing is tough to pin down, but I’ve heard both September and October thrown out there. So I think a general fall release would be what we’re looking at."
It's certainly a surprise (given that the Star Wars schedule is already a bit full this year), but it's a welcome one. Like Jordan Maison, I really loved the whole premise of Visions - it let different studios go wild with ideas, without having to worry about canon continuity - and I'm excited for more of the same.
What's particularly interesting is that "there will be some returning studios who would be doing follow-ups on stories/characters from the first season." Personally I'm hoping that director Kenji Kamiyama gets to continue the story of The Ninth Jedi, my favourite short from season 1, and that we might see more of the characters from The Village Bride and The Elder. I'm curious what others would hope for from Visions season 2, so if there's another short you'd like to see a follow-up to, comment it below!
That's all the biggest rumours from April, with hopefully many more to come this month too. If you'd like to see future leaks coverage on SWE.com, please like and share this article to show your support!
Thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you...
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