Wikipedia

That Would Be Me

"That Would Be Me" is the second episode of the American streaming television series Andor, based on Star Wars created by George Lucas. It was written by Tony Gilroy and directed by Toby Haynes.

"That Would Be Me"
Andor episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 2
Directed byToby Haynes
Written byTony Gilroy
Featured musicNicholas Britell
Cinematography byAdriano Goldman
Editing by
Original release dateSeptember 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
Running time38 minutes
Cast
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Kassa" 		Next →
"Reckoning"

The episode stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, who reprises his role from the Star Wars spinoff film, Rogue One (2016). Haynes was hired in September 2020 after a production delay due the COVID-19 pandemic, and Gilroy joined the series as showrunner in early 2019, replacing Stephen Schiff. Both executive produce alongside Luna and Kathleen Kennedy.

"That Would Be Me" was released on Disney+ on September 21, 2022, along with "Kassa" and "Reckoning", as a three-part series premiere.

Plot

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Timm, suspicious of Andor, reports him after seeing an alert for a Kenari male. Andor visits Maarva, where she has discovered that he was on Morlana One and is furious he has told people of his history on Kenari. He visits Bix to sell technology through her connections on the black market and she reveals the buyer is arriving the following day. The next morning, Andor informs B2EMO of his intentions to leave. He then attempts to buy his way off Ferrix, but needs the money from Bix's dealer.

That dealer, Luthen Rael, heads to Ferrix and observes the scrapyard through binoculars. He then discusses his life before the Empire with a passenger on a hoverbus. After investigating Timm's tip, Karn partners with Sergeant Linus Mosk, an equally dutiful Pre-Mor officer, to arrest Andor. Karn and Mosk travel to Ferrix, where Mosk professionally debriefs their troops on the plan to ambush Andor, but Karn stumbles in his attempts to inspire them.

In a series of flashbacks, young Kassa and the Kenari tribe venture through the jungle to a crashed Separatist mining ship. The leader, a teenaged girl, inspects the bodies of seemingly deceased crew members but is killed by one of them, who in turn is killed with poisoned darts by the tribe. The tribe take the leader's body back to camp, whilst Kassa stays behind to explore.

Production

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Development

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Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in February 2018 that there were several Star Wars series in development,[1] and that November one was revealed as a prequel to the film Rogue One (2016). The series was described as a spy thriller show focused on the character Cassian Andor, with Diego Luna reprising his role from the film.[2] Jared Bush originally developed the series, writing a pilot script and series bible for the project.[3] By the end of November, Stephen Schiff was serving as showrunner and executive producer of the series.[3] Tony Gilroy, who was credited as a co-writer on Rogue One and oversaw extensive reshoots for the film,[4] joined the series by early 2019 when he discussed the first story details with Luna.[5] Gilroy's involvement was revealed that October, when he was set to write the first episode, direct multiple episodes, and work alongside Schiff;[4] Gilroy had officially replaced Schiff as showrunner by April 2020.[6] Six weeks of pre-production for the series had taken place in the United Kingdom by then, but this was halted and production on the series delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] Pre-production had begun again by September ahead of a planned filming start the next month. At that time, Gilroy, who is based in New York, chose not to travel to the UK for production on the series due to the pandemic, and was therefore unable to direct the series' first episode. Instead, the UK-based Toby Haynes, who was already "high on the list" of potential directors for the series, was hired to direct the first three episodes. Gilroy would remain executive producer and showrunner.[9] In December 2020, Luna was revealed to be executive producing the series.[10]

The second episode, titled "That Would Be Me", was written by Tony Gilroy.[11]

Writing

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The writing was structured so that a story arc is contained in every three episodes.[12] For the first three episodes, Gilroy had wanted to address Andor's accent while also exploring his backstory further. He had originally created Andor's origin story while writing the series, and opted to include it earlier in the series to avoid having to "carry it through the whole show". Further describing it as a "contained piece", he had also commented "at some point, I [Gilroy] must have come up with the cutting pattern, and then the interesting thing became how to really tell the young Cassian story, how to stretch that out, and how to get the most out of it".[13]

Flashbacks in the episode revealed that Andor's birth name is Kassa and one of the main reasons to include the flashbacks was to explain Andor's accent.[14][15] The episode consisted of the first depiction of the BBY/ABY timescale (Before or After the Battle of Yavin) in any Star Wars series or film when it featured BBY 5 on the screen during the opening scene. Previously the scale was used only by fans to create a timeline of the events of the franchise, with a zero point being the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope with the destruction of the first Death Star.[16][17]

Casting

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The episode stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor,[2][18] Kyle Soller as Syril Karn, Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen, Joplin Sibtain as Brasso, James McArdle as Timm Karlo, and Rupert Vansittart as Chief Hyne.[18]

Filming

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Filming began in London, England, at the end of November 2020,[19][20] with the production based at Pinewood Studios.[21][22] The series was filmed under the working title Pilgrim,[21] and was the first live-action Star Wars series to not make use of the StageCraft digital background technology.[23] Filming locations included Black Park in Buckinghamshire, England for the flashback scenes, as well as at Middle Peak Quarry in Derbyshire, England.[24]

Music

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Nicholas Britell composed the musical score for the episode.[25][26] The episode's soundtrack was released in October 2022 as part of the first volume for the series. The volume also consisted of the soundtracks for episodes 3–4.[27]

Andor: Episode 2 (Original Soundtrack)
No.TitleLength
1."Andor (Main Title Theme) – Episode 2"0:52
2."End of Day"1:21
3."Who Else Knows?"1:47
4."Luthen Rael"1:25
5."The Kenari War Cry"1:32
6."The Night Before"1:58
7."Pilgrim"1:29
Total length:10:40

Release

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"That Would Be Me" was released on Disney+ on September 21, 2022.[28] It was originally set to premiere on August 31.[29] In November 2022, Disney announced that the first two episodes would air on ABC on November 23, on FX on November 24, and Freeform on November 25, and be available on Hulu from November 23 through December 7.[30] A similar move was also replicated across various countries in Europe, including Portugal, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands, with the first two episodes airing on Fox, on November 24 or 25, depending on the country.[31]

Reception

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Audience viewership

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The first three episodes released at the same time and according to Nielsen Media Research who measure the number of minutes watched by United States audiences on television sets, Andor was the sixth-most watched original series across streaming services for the week of September 19–25, 2022, with 624 million minutes watched.[32]

Critical response

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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 90% approval rating with an average rating of 7.70/10, based on 110 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "This installment suffers from being the middle chapter of a three-parter that needs to be watched concurrently to yield any payoff, but Andor's galactic scale and keen writing shine on."[33]

References

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  1. ^ Goldberg, Lesley; Couch, Aaron (February 6, 2018). "'Star Wars' TV Series: Disney Developing "a Few" for Its Streaming Service". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Lang, Brent (November 8, 2018). "'Star Wars': Diego Luna to Lead Spinoff Series". Variety. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (November 30, 2018). "Disney+ 'Star Wars' Series Starring Diego Luna Taps Stephen Schiff As Showrunner". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (October 15, 2019). "'Rogue One' Writer Tony Gilroy Joins Cassian Andor 'Star Wars' Series at Disney Plus (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  5. ^ Breznican, Anthony (May 17, 2022). "Star Wars: The Rebellion Will Be Televised". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  6. ^ Kit, Boris (April 24, 2020). "'Star Wars': Cassian Andor Disney+ Series Adds Two Actors (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  7. ^ KingPatel (April 10, 2020). "Exclusive: Cassian Andor Disney+ Series Had Completed About Six Weeks Of Pre-Production Prior To Shut Down". Comic Book Movie. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  8. ^ Otterson, Joe (April 24, 2020). "Cassian Andor Disney Plus Series Adds Genevieve O'Reilly, Denise Gough". Variety. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 22, 2020). "'Black Mirror's Toby Haynes To Direct 'Rogue One' Spin-Off Series At Disney+ As Tony Gilroy Steps Aside As Director". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Star Wars (December 10, 2020). Sizzle Reel | Andor | Disney+. YouTube.
  11. ^ "Andor (2021–2022)". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  12. ^ Vary, Adam B. (August 24, 2022). "How 'Andor' Became the First 'Star Wars' TV Series for Grown-Ups: 'I Wanted to Do It About Real People'". Variety. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  13. ^ Young, Bryan (September 21, 2022). "Tony Gilroy on the Screenwriting of 'Andor'". Script Magazine. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  14. ^ Taing, Tyler Llewyn (April 7, 2023). "Andor Creator Tony Gilroy Knew Cassian's Backstory Needed To Explain His Accent". /Film. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  15. ^ Mysogland, Gregory (September 25, 2022). "Who Is Kassa on 'Andor'?". Collider. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  16. ^ Bajer, Ted (September 27, 2022). "Andor Episodes 1–3 Easter Eggs You May Have Missed". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  17. ^ Hall, Charlie (September 22, 2022). "What Does BBY Mean in the Opening Scene of Star Wars' Andor?". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Gilroy, Tony (September 21, 2022). "That Would Be Me". Andor. Season 1. Episode 2. Disney+. End credits begin at 33:06.
  19. ^ Paz, Maggie Dela (December 4, 2020). "Cassian Andor: Diego Luna Confirms Disney+ Series Has Begun Filming". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  20. ^ Peters, Jay (December 10, 2020). "Star Wars: Andor starring Rogue One's Diego Luna is coming to Disney Plus in 2022". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Last Traces of Star Wars Filming in Cleveleys". Visit Cleveleys. May 11, 2021. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  22. ^ "Star Wars: Andor filming at Pinewood Studios until summer 2021". KFTV. December 8, 2020. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  23. ^ Kim, Matt (May 27, 2022). "Andor Is the First Star Wars Show for Disney That 'Doesn't Lean' on StageCraft". IGN. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  24. ^ Guimarães, Elisa (December 3, 2022). "'Andor' Filming Locations: Where Was the 'Star Wars' Show Shot?". Collider. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  25. ^ "Nicholas Britell to Score Disney+'s 'Rogue One' Prequel Series 'Andor'". Film Music Reporter. February 16, 2022. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  26. ^ Burlingame, Jon (May 27, 2022). "'Succession' Composer Nicholas Britell Enters the 'Star Wars' Universe With Music for 'Andor' (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  27. ^ Leishman, Rachel (October 21, 2022). "'Andor' Soundtrack for First Four Episodes Released". Collider. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  28. ^ "New Andor Trailer Goes Big On Rebel Action, And Updated Premiere Details Revealed". StarWars.com. August 1, 2022. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  29. ^ Patten, Dominic; Hipes, Patrick (May 26, 2022). "'Star Wars' Series 'Andor' To Debut in August On Disney+, Gets Teaser; Season 2 To Start Filming This Fall". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  30. ^ Petski, Denise (November 14, 2022). "'Andor': First Two Episodes Of 'Star Wars' Disney+ Prequel Head To ABC, FX, Freeform & Hulu Over Thanksgiving Holiday". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  31. ^ "Canais FOX estreiam dois episódios de Andor". Magazine HD. November 17, 2022. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  32. ^ Porter, Rick (October 20, 2022). "Dahmer Earns Big Debut in U.S. Streaming Rankings". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  33. ^ "That Would Be Me". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
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