Last night, the trades revealed that Mon Mothma actress Genevieve O'Reilly and Denise Gough had been cast in the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel series coming to Disney+.
However, in a subsequent post from StarWars.com, it's been revealed that Cassian Andor takes place five years before the events of that movie. That means it's set 5 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) in the official timeline of these stories set in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, a date which makes sense when Rogue One leads directly into the opening few minutes of A New Hope.
This also means the Empire has been in power for fourteen years following the events of Revenge of the Sith (which is in 19 BBY). It's hard to imagine how different the Galaxy will be at this point, but you have to believe the Rebellion will still be in the very early stages of coming together.
For the most part, though, it sounds like Cassian Andor is going to focus on the hero's early years and some of the darker moments in his past which Rogue One only alluded to. With this five-year gap, it's hard to imagine the Disney+ series lasting for more than a season or two.
Are you guys excited to explore this period in Cassian Andor?
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could star in the new female-led Star Wars series coming to Disney+!
10. Captain Phasma
Following her introduction in The Force Awakens, fans expected big things from Captain Phasma. Unfortunately, she was killed off with little fanfare by Rian Johnson in The Last Jedi, and her story came to a premature, and undeniably abrupt, end.
Novels and comic books have filled in some of the gaps in the character's history, but there are no doubt more stories to be told, particularly when it comes to both her past and how The First Order went about recruiting all those children for their army.
What made Phasma tick and why was she so damn evil? These are questions a limited series could answer, while potentially addressing some lingering questions from the sequels.
9. Mara Jade
The desire to see Mara Jade in a live-action setting is huge, and while there are huge chunks of her history which will need to be rewritten, it's not something outside the realm of possibility.
Introduced in Timothy Zahn's critically acclaimed Thrawn Trilogy, we learn that Jade was trained as the Emperor's right hand, with her final mission being to assassinate Luke Skywalker. However, she quicky sees the error of her ways, and eventually gets married to the Jedi Master.
As we mentioned, much of that will have to be forgotten, but it gives Lucasfilm the opportunity to reinvent the character and give fans something new to enjoy, while finally bringing this hero to TV.
8. Qi'ra
After making a $77 million loss, there's no way we're getting a Solo sequel. However, it's clear from the way that movie ended there are more storied to be told, and that's where a show like this could come in handy. We learned at the end of the spinoff that Qi'ra was working for Maul, and who wouldn't want to see more of that villain's intriguing backstory before his demise?
It helps that Emilia Clarke was so great in this role, and with a cameo appearance from Alden Ehrenreich's Han Solo, we could even get some answers about why things ended between these two.
This isn't a series we can imagine needing more than the one season, but Lucasfilm has the chance to wrap up some lingering plot threads here, while making fans happy with a pseudo Solo 2.
7. Ashoka Tano
As you've likely heard, there are already rumblings that Lucasfilm is planning to use the episode of The Mandalorian which introduces a live-action version of Ashoka Tano as a backdoor pilot for her own series. With that in mind, it's highly likely that's exactly who this show will focus on.
With Rosario Dawson playing the character, it's understandable why a Disney+ TV series might be a priority, and given the popularity of Ashoka, it's pretty much guaranteed to be a hit.
Whether the series takes place before or after the events of The Mandalorian, there are a lot of stories it could explore. Personally, we would like to see it serve as a Star Wars Rebels sequel!
6. Rey "Skywalker"
Is it too soon to return to the world of the sequels? Fans are understandably curious to find out what happened after Emperor Palpatine's final defeat, while the list of unanswered questions we have from this trilogy continues to grow with every new minor piece of information which is revealed.
Serving as an epilogue of sorts, this star-studded series could reveal what Rey "Skywalker" did next and show what happens to a Galaxy without the influence of the First Order and Sith.
Characters like Finn and Poe Dameron could also get slightly more satisfying conclusions to their respective story arcs, and Rey could be redeemed after some of the damage done to the character in J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio's Skywalker Saga finale. It's unlikely, but a strong premise for a series.
5. Padmé Amidala
Natalie Portman's run as Padmé Amidala was something of a mixed bag in the prequels, and her best moments came when she got to see some action. For the most part, it was a lot of fun spending time with the character, but there are definitely ways a show like this could improve on that.
Just like the actress is returning to the MCU to play Jane Foster, whose to say she couldn't come back to Star Wars in order to fill in some gaps in Padmé's history? Alternatively, as she's not a little older, a more likely possibility is that she could play one of the character's lookalike handmaidens, exploring what became of them following Padmé's death and the rise of the Empire.
That's actually something the current Darth Vader comic book series is touching on, so we'll have to wait and see how it plays out there before being sure if it's something that would work on TV.
4. Aurra Sing
After making a brief appearance in The Phantom Menace, the "Expanded Universe" would make Aurra Sing an interesting character who became something of a breakout villain in the process. An associate of Jango Fett's, we learned that she was responsible for training Boba Fett as a bounty hunter, and even accompanied him when he tried to kill Mace Windu.
Exploring that iconic character's origin story would be a good way to increase interest in a show revolving around Sing, and it would kill two birds with one stone.
On the one hand, we'd have a tale about a badass female warrior, and on the other, the series could fill in some huge gaps in Star Wars history which would definitely draw the interest of long-term fans. It would also be fun to revisit the era of the prequels as they've been largely ignored thus far.
3. Cara Dune
Not too long ago, reports surfaced that Lucasfilm was working on a number of spinoffs tied to The Mandalorian, and Cara Dune has to be among the most likely possibilities (we love IG-11, but let's face it, he's probably not a character who could hold his own across eight episodes).
While we definitely want to see more of Dune in the first of the live-action Star Wars TV shows to come to Disney+, exploring her history would be no bad thing, especially if that takes us back to her time as part of the Rebellion and allows us to revisit the events of the original trilogy.
The question is, is the character interesting enough to hold her own in a series like this one?
2. Doctor Aphra
Doctor Aphra has developed a huge fanbase thanks to her comic book adventures, and fans have been hoping for the past few years now that she'll make the leap from page to screen.
Given how much of her story has already been covered by Marvel, it's hard to imagine what could be done with her in a live-action setting, but we're sure there are more stories to tell, all of which could tie into what we've seen in the comics. She's a huge amount of fun to spend time with, and with the right actress, we can imagine that same being the case on Disney+ too.
Time will tell, but a TV show wrapping up her story feels like the right fit for this streaming service.
1. An Original Character
We've explored a lot of exciting possibilities with some familiar faces thus far, but who's to say the lead of this series won't be someone completely new?
The Mandalorian may have taken advantage of a familiar alien race by creating "Baby Yoda," but the titular character is an original creation. Despite that, he's already a firm fan-favourite, and that just goes to show Lucasfilm is more than capable of coming up with compelling new heroes without necessarily turning to those they've already introduced.
We could follow someone on the side of good or evil here, pretty much in any time period. That's an intriguing prospect, and one made possible by focusing on a new addition to this Galaxy.