How Andor's Diego Luna Really Feels About Rogue One's Grim Ending
The recently-released Disney+ original "Andor" is a prequel series that takes place five years before the events of "Rogue One." It captures the story of how a young thief named Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) went on to become a prominent intelligence officer within the Rebel Alliance — eventually stealing the Death Star plans that play such a crucial role throughout the story of "Star Wars: A New Hope."
Thus far, much and more of "Andor" has been devoted to the titular character's traumatic childhood (and the way in which his own suffering informed his decision to fight the Galactic Empire), as well as Andor's journey across the galaxy to find his missing sister. Although the series has certainly been extremely thrilling throughout its first few episodes, it's impossible to watch "Andor" without feeling a small bit of irony, as the series forces us to root for a character we know is ultimately doomed.
Avid "Star Wars" fans will know that Cassian Andor famously sacrifices himself in the climax of "Rogue One" in order to secure the Death Star plans, and as such, the entirety of "Andor" is simply a buildup for his inevitable demise. As depressing as this may sound, actor Diego Luna actually seems to have quite a positive view of the grim ending of "Rogue One" — saying it is one of the things that originally attracted him to the project in the first place.
Diego Luna absolutely loves the dark ending of Rogue One
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Diego Luna rewatched several of his most iconic roles across film and television and explained that he was excited by "Rogue One" precisely because of its uniquely dark ending and broader emphasis on sacrifice. "I thought it was so bold, so interesting, so unique to have an ending like this," Luna said. "It's one of the things that excited me the most ... that 'Star Wars' was gonna do that. Was gonna show what sacrifice means."
Luna went on to explain that, as a fan of "Star Wars," he thought that the franchise could benefit from a more mature approach to its stories and said that it "made complete sense" that the story of "Rogue One" should end with that kind of finality. Luna also asserted that although there were rumors circulating about an alternate (and possibly even happier) ending for "Rogue One," this grim ending was the only one he had ever signed on for.
Although it is certainly quite funny to hear Luna praising the dark finality of this film, knowing that he has now reprised the character of Cassian Andor for his own spinoff series (an irony he also addresses in the interview), his comments make it clear that he absolutely loved the grim ending of "Rogue One" — both as an actor and a "Star Wars" fan.