Star Wars: Rogue One Disney+ Series Gets New Black Mirror Director

It looks like things are shaking up behind the scenes with Star Wars‘ spin-off series for Rogue One. A new report went live today from Deadline saying director Toby Haynes has been tapped to oversee the show to start. He will be replacing Tony Gilroy who was previously headed up as director, but he was forced to back out due to COVID-19 related travel issues.

According to the report’s sources, Gilroy was asked to make a quick decision about their continued work on the Star Wars spin-off. The director, who lives in New York, would have needed to head to the United Kingdom to shoot the project. In the end, Gilroy felt it best to stay at home and pass the director’s chair to Haynes.

This change is not an unexpected one as Haynes was already expected to direct episodes of the spin-off. Now, he will be taking charge of episodes one through three as well. Haynes is currently in the United Kingdom which makes the exchange even smoother. And while Gilroy is overseas in the United States, he will remain on the Star Wars series as executive producer and showrunner.

Currently, little is known about the trajectory of this project, but fans do know it will follow Cassian Andor whoo Diego Luna played in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The spin-off is in pre-production at the moment with plans to start filming in October. As for its story, the yet-titled series will focus on Andor’s work as a rebel prior to his movie debut. Luna will reprise his role as Andor while Alan Tudyk returns as K-2SO, the spy’s droid. This Star Wars series is just one of several in the works for Disney+ following the huge success of The Mandalorian. With season two slated to debut in October, Lucasfilm and Disney are already eyeing other live-action shows such as one focused on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

So, what do you think of this newest change? Do you think production will go more smoothly on this spin-off series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.