Star Wars: ‘Rogue One’ Prequel Series Taps ‘The Americans’ Producer as Showrunner

Coming off of the conclusion of the hit FX spy series The Americans, executive producer Stephen Schiff will reportedly serve as showrunner of the upcoming Star Wars live-action series that takes place before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which focuses on Cassian Andor.

Deadline reports that the unnamed series, which will be landing on Disney’s new streaming service Disney+, has amassed writers and will star Diego Luna as the Rebel spy. The series is set to head into production sometime next year.

The series is described, “The rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire. A release date for the series has not yet been announced.”

“Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me,” Luna shared in a statement when the series was announced last month. “I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey. We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.”

A running joke in Luna’s interviews leading up to Rogue One was that all he wanted to do was touch Jabba the Hutt to understand what his skin felt like. Upon the announcement of the new series, fans couldn’t help but wonder if this meant that the opportunity would finally present itself.

“I guess my life will change the day I get to find out what the texture of Jabba’s skin [is like] [laughs],” Luna joked to Collider. “One thing you say on one day in the middle of 150 interviews suddenly haunts you for the rest of your life. It’s incredible the amount of sh-t I get for that, I love it. I love it … but I still want to touch Jabba the Hutt.”

It’s unclear exactly how far off the series will be from the events of Rogue One, though Luna did previously point out that CGI might be used to make his character look younger.

“It’s the magic of film. I’m going to be younger and younger and younger in the next three, four years, or whatever time this takes,” the actor shared with Variety. “I’m gonna get younger, which I love. It’s fantastic if we can use technology to make me younger.”

Stay tuned for more details on the Rogue One prequel series. Hitting Disney+ next year is the live-action Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

Does this announcement have you more excited about the new series? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!