Star Wars has a lot of characters, and fans love to point like Leo whenever their Glup Shitto shows up. Andor has had a few randomly familiar faces pop in here and there, and since this season is going right into Rogue One, we’ll be seeing more of ’em—just don’t go expecting everyone to be played by their original actor.
In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Tony Gilroy discussed how the real world and some “budgetary issues” required some adjusting to the show’s season two plans.
Some episodes “changed dramatically” because of this, he said, and in the case of at least one legacy character from the beginning of Rogue One—as well as “a couple people in we wanted to have in Yavin”—that undisclosed role will be played by a different actor.
Bringing back returning characters with their original actors can be a “really tricky” feat to pull off, he explained. It can be “very, very expensive” for the show—or some performers just may have prior commitments. In recent years, Star Wars’ approach seems to have depended entirely on the project; Ahsoka has a new Baylan Skoll in Rory McCann following Ray Stevenson’s passing in 2023, and has Jim Cummings back as Hondo for Star Wars Outlaws.
Conversely (and controversially), generative AI and deepfakes have been used to recreate Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader’s vocal performances in lieu of recasts. We’ve also seen iconic characters played by deceased actors recreated in CG.
For the continuity-obsessed, seeing these new actors at may create a slight disconnect when they eventually back-to-back Andor and Rogue One to see how they play off each other. But such is the case of the Glup Shitto: they may not always be the same person on the screen, but they’re the same Glup in our hearts.
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