Andor’s designers approached it like a Star Wars period drama

When he was first asked to work on Andor, he was a bit nervous. He was worried that working in the well-established Star Wars universe would be hard. He told The Verge that his biggest fear was that he would have to fit in with a certain aesthetic or that there would be a level of studio involvement that would keep us in a certain aesthetic. It hasn't been that way. They are very enthusiastic about doing something different.

Since its debut in September, Andor has stood out due to its more grounded tone and focus on politics. The show, which is a prequel to Rogue One, looks unlike any other Star Wars show out there, with a style that is dark and grimy, but still recognizably from a place far, far away. The goal was to have the nostalgia of Star Wars but also a sense of modernity that can compete with other shows that are out there.

I want to know what a heater looks like in Star Wars.

He approached the show as if he were working on a drama. To find out how things should look, you had to research the time period. Both the time and place in Andor are fiction. He says that you have to research the whole universe and what has happened before. Pick what is right for our show. There were a lot of practical questions when designing the world. Hull talked about temperatures and climates. I don't know what a heaters looks like in Star Wars. What are the looks of the blinds?

He made it clear what he didn't want the show to be. Hull didn't want the scene to look like a piece of art. Showing off is not what it is about. It's not about being a Jedi. Being subtle and more nuanced is what it's about. This show is very interesting because of that.

Image: Lucasfilm

This meant a different approach to build the sets. Much of the show was shot on location. In the case of Ferrix, the small working-class town where the show begins, building out a small part of the city was necessary. It should feel like a small town with a lot of work. The whole idea of how we built that was based on that idea. When you're filming, you don't have to cut between sets.

Finding ways to tell stories using the real world was a challenge. A simple dwelling that was carefully crafted to help explain her character was cited by Hull. He says that a woman at the end of her life can't keep up with her house and her business is gone. Her life is basically this chair. Even though this is very dark, everyone can relate to it, and yet it needs something else. The chair she sits in, the little charging unit for B2 and the window are just some of the decisions she has to make.

There is a new date.

Image: Lucasfilm

While Hull was initially unsure about working in the established world of Star Wars, costume designer Michael Wilkinson had the opposite idea. He likes to start with something. I might have a fear of blank canvases. When I work on superhero films, I like to have seven different versions of a batsuit and figure out what the film needs.

When it came to the background characters, Wilkinson was able to use costumes from previous Star Wars projects and pick which fit Andor in order to tell the story of the place. He says that he likes the richness that is possible when you start with iconography.

Image: Lucasfilm

Combining the Star Wars universe with the real world is one of the techniques used to create the show. The most striking example of this is the show's take on a suit and tie. Over the course of many movies and shows, we have seen a lot of military uniforms and garb. The visual side of Star Wars has never been explored. The suit and tie from Andor were inspired by Jacques Tati films and corporate design from the 1960s, according to the author.

"Showing off isn't what it's about."

He says that they came up with an idea of a band of fabric with a specific piece of hardware that is thread through to give a tie-like effect. It's possible to reference things from the real world but also give it a Star Wars spin. It is helpful to give the audience visual clues from our world and then jump off from that. It makes it more relevant to the audience.

Andor has been able to differentiate itself from other live-action Star Wars series and films by paying attention to detail. At one point during a key sequence, the team had to think of what a bathroom should look like, as you notice new details that further flesh out the world.

Hull says that it's a big universe. That is a good way to justify most of our decisions.