Andor has shocked Star Wars fans with its first eight episodes. The Disney+ series from Rogue One co-writer Tony Gilroy has provided plenty of political intrigue and thrills for those that have taken the dive on the Diego Luna-led series.
But this has been a bit of a different project in the world of Star Wars. The Direct's very own Sam Hargrave called the series "a breath of fresh air" for the galaxy far, far away, as the series avoids flashy cameos or fan service, focusing on a deep and engaging story.
However, with Andor Episode 8, the series bucked its own trend, by including a rather interesting cameo from elsewhere in the Star Wars galaxy.
Andy Serkis is Back in Star Wars
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for Episode 8 of Andor.
Andor Episode 8 welcomed back sequel trilogy actor Andry Serkis to the world of Star Wars, as the famed mo-cap actor portrayed Kino Loy, a prisoner seen alongside Diego Luna's Cassian Andor who ran the production floor that Luna's hero finds himself upon.
Serkis previously played Supreme Leader Snoke in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, with his Andor character seemingly having no connection to the Sequel Trilogy big bad. Serkis's case if nowhere near the first time an actor has come back to play another part in the world of Star Wars.
Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill is probably the biggest returning actor, who came back to the Lucasian canon to voice Darth Bane in an episode of The Clone Wars.
Another example includes Jeremy Bulloch (the original trilogy Boba Fett), who also played a pilot serving the Royal House of Alderaan in Revenge of the Sith.
Wicket the Ewok actor Warwick Daivs has come back to the franchise twice so far, taking on the role of Wald, Anakin's young Rodian friend in The Phantom Menace, and Watto's friend Weazel seen during the podracing scene in that very same movie.
Voice actor Sam Witwer has also pulled double duty in the Star Wars universe. The actor is the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Star Wars: Rebels, and he plays New Republic pilot Hugh Sion in the Disney XD series Star Wars: Resistance.
And the men behind R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) have also tried their hand at other roles in the galaxy, with Baker playing an Ewok in Return of the Jedi, and Daniels taking on a cameo role as a con artist during the Kessel mine sequence of Solo.
Doubling Up in the Star Wars Universe
And these are only just a few examples of actors that have pulled two different roles in the world of Star Wars. However, Serkis' feels a little more substantial that some of the others.
Most actors who have played two different characters across the franchise come in the form of small cameos to honor a legacy actor (i.e. Warwick Davis, Mark Hamill, Kenny Baker, and Anthony Daniels).
Others like Dave Filoni's work as Chopper from Rebels, a pilot in The Mandalorian, and Trapper Wolf in Star Wars: Resistance, are a fun idea to get some of the minds behind Star Wars in front of the camera for a brief moment.
Serkis' Andor role feels a little bit bigger. Sure, Serkis's Kino Loy isn't going to be getting a spin-off series or anything, but he was a major part of this latest episode, and - seeing as Andor is still in prison at the end of this episode - will likely be back for more as the series rolls on.
Andor is streaming now on Disney+.
