Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor thinks Andor’s use of real-life locations gave it the edge over other Lucasfilm projects.
The Star Wars prequels were filmed predominantly on green screens, while Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi, which saw McGregor reprise the role for the first time in almost 20 years, used a new technique known as StageCraft, which uses a wraparound video wall on a soundstage called the Volume. The technology was designed by George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic.
“With Andor, they decided not to use it. They used real locations. And I think that gave Andor something special,” McGregor said during an appearance at Fan Expo Chicago (via Popverse).
Andor ran for two seasons on Disney Plus between 2022 and 2025. The Rogue One prequel, starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, is now the most critically acclaimed live-action Star Wars project on Rotten Tomatoes, and it includes the highest-rated live-action episodes ever in the Star Wars franchise.
“George [Lucas] was pioneering what we all only shoot on. You’ve got to fight hard to shoot on film these days,” McGregor added, referring to the prequels’ use of digital cameras, unusual for blockbusters at the time. “He pioneered that. He was at the cutting edge of that.”
Next up from the galaxy far, far away is The Mandalorian & Grogu, which picks up after The Mandalorian season 3 and sees Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White join the franchise.