In the first few episodes of “Andor,” we quickly find out that Cassian was initially born on planet Kenari under the name “Kassa” before he arrived to Ferrix, an industrial planet that he retreats to with his surrogate family after Kenari was taken under Imperial control.
When asked about the process of designing Ferrix, Gilroy explained that he wanted to maintain a thematic relationship between Cassian’s character and the space around him. “[Production designer Luke Hull] will tell you, I had this cocktail napkin drawing of Ferrix, it was one of the first things that we traded. My version, it looks like one of those Tolkien maps …” Gilroy explained. “The setting would become a character of the show, and that became very helpful. Because what Cassian is going through is what Ferrix is going through.”
Though the concept of race and ethnicity are never explicitly factored in or discussed in the canon of “Star Wars,” Luna and Gilroy were able to allegorically incorporate parts of Luna’s personal experience as a Mexico-born actor/filmmaker working in Hollywood. “Andor” essentially tells the story of an immigrant and his journey to Ferrix as a refugee from Kenari, who then experiences displacement as Ferrix surrenders under Imperial control. Cassian’s gradual radicalization into rebellion is also a search for identity and belonging.