Star Wars: Fiona Shaw’s Andor Character Revealed

With how little audiences knew about Cassian Andor before what we saw in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we’ve been curious about who the cast members of Star Wars: Andor could be playing, with Empire Magazine reportedly confirming that Fiona Shaw’s Maarva will serve as an adoptive mother to Diego Luna’s Cassian. Interestingly, Shaw teased as much last year when discussing her role in the project, though those comments were a bit more cryptic and ambiguous, leaving fans to merely speculate about such details. Star Wars: Andor is currently set to premiere on Disney+ on September 21st.

The Andor series will explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception, and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

While speaking with Empire, Shaw detailed the ways in which showrunner Tony Gilroy drew influences from the real-world political climate to help explore life under the oppression of the Galactic Empire and how that shaped Cassian’s way of life.

“Tony has written a great, scurrilous [take] on the Trumpian world,” the actor recalled. “Our world is exploding in different places right now, people’s rights are disappearing, and Andor reflects that. [In the show] the Empire is taking over, and it feels like the same thing is happening in reality, too.”

She continued, “I was impressed by Tony’s social-realist intentions … He’s created a whole new morality. It’s very deep and humane — there is grief, mourning, hope, fear. It’s not just primary colors here.”

Based on comments Shaw made last year about the series, it also sounds as though Cassian will take on a new name following a likely tragedy.

“It’s an Andor series and it’s about people called ‘Andor,’ of which I am one,” Shaw shared with BBC’s The One Show in July 2021. “And the main part, of course, is the marvelous Mexican actor and he plays the hero who runs around, who is Diego Luna, and he has adventures in space. It’s set well before the Star Wars series so it’s a prequel to Star Wars.”

Star Wars: Andor is currently set to premiere on Disney+ on September 21st.

Are you looking forward to the series? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!