Star Wars broke new ground for cinema back in 1977, and 45 years later, Andor did the same thing. Gone were the fantastical space battles, glitzy lightsabers, and good old-fashioned romanticization of heroism, and in its place was a gritty ensemble of many a shade of grey, tension driven forward by words instead of weapons, and a determination to show the world just exactly what kind of ethos Star Wars is capable of occupying.
While leading man Diego Luna may have been the one to nab the Golden Globe nomination, we’d be remiss to forget the impact that Stellan Skarsgård made with his turn as Luthen Rael, a black market dealer and an important figure in the Rebel Alliance’s earliest days, whose passion for the cause culminated most memorably in one of the franchise’s best-ever monologues.
And yet, fans are still left wondering just how all of this passion came to be; how did Luthen become the man we know him as now? It would no doubt be a worthwhile piece of content for Lucasfilm to cook up, but for now, the folks over at r/StarWars are happy to theorize the backstory that led to his stone-cold, present-day drive.
Some users suggested that he worked under the Republic, citing his familiarity with Senator Mon Mothma as a strong hint to such a theory.
One other hypothesized that Luthen’s passion is a result of Order 66, suggesting that he may have had ties to the Jedi, or perhaps had a child who was a victim of the temple’s purge.
And, Reddit being Reddit, the whole thread took this question as seriously as possibly.
If we ever do get a solo story for a young Luthen, then it will be a spinoff of a spinoff of a spinoff film of the mainline Star Wars saga, which may sound daunting for a studio to undertake, but if any franchise has the clout to make it happen, it’s George Lucas’ sci-fi darling.