Diego Luna is the cover star of SFX issue 356, as we look forward to Rogue One prequel series Andor, which debuts on Disney+ on 21 September.
Below we run down some of the highlights of the issue. UK readers, don't forget: you can use this store locator (opens in new tab) to find a stockist near you, or order a copy online (opens in new tab) for the same price it is in the shops.
Star Wars: Andor
Our lead feature this month is an eight-page piece on the Rogue One prequel series. As well as star Diego Luna, we also speak to showrunner Tony Gilroy about his plans for the Star Wars spinoff. There are also contributions from cast members Genevieve O'Reilly, Denise Gough and Kyle Soller.
House of the Dragon
It's a prequel-show avalanche this issue! Next up: this Game of Thrones spinoff, set to air in the UK on Sky Atlantic from 22 August. Taking place 300 years before the events of the parent series, it will tell the story of the Targaryen civil war. Showrunner Ryan Condal explains how he's bringing a bit of Succession to Westeros.
The Rings of Power
The prequel shows just keep coming! Set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the mega-budget Prime Video series which promises to show us events such as the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of Sauron, and the fall of Númenor. Producers Belén Atienza, Lindsey Weber and JA Bayona tease what's in store once it premieres on 2 September.
Stranger Things
That Vecna wasn't a very nice fella, was he? Prosthetic makeup artist Barrie Gower tells us how he and his team created season four's Big Bad, sharing loads of behind-the-scenes snaps of the mutated monster.
Aeon Flux
Remember Aeon Flux – no, not the rubbish live-action movie, but the ultraviolent animation where the heroine kept dying over and over again? We look back at the iconic MTV series in the company of its creator, Peter Chung.
Red Alert
As ever, our news section, Red Alert, is crammed with insights into yet more movies, TV shows, comics and books. In the spotlight this month: anthology show Tales of the Walking Dead, George Miller's Djinn tale Three Thousand Years of Longing, BBC Three horror series Red Rose, conversion-camp horror film They/Them (you have to pronounce the slash…), vampire actioner Day Shift, Locke & Key season three, family-friendly superhero movie Secret Headquarters, the second half of Resident Alien season two, Disney+ shorts series I Am Groot, animated show Little Demon, Sandman star Boyd Holbrook, and new Predator, Spider-Man and Black Adam comics. Phew!
Regulars
And there's loads more good stuff across our regular slots. In our Close Encounter section we talk video games with Resident Evil's Ella Balinska. RF Kuang is the subject of our Brought to Book profile. David Quantick fills in our author questionnaire, The Write Stuff. Plus we reminisce about Dan Clowes's darkly surreal comic Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron for our Total Recall page, and test your knowledge of fictional UFOs with another Blastermind quiz.
Reviews
The SFX verdict on Nope kicks off 25 pages of searing critical analysis, as we inform you which of the latest films, TV shows, books, comics, audio plays, and video games are worth splashing your hard-earned cash on!
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