Tony Gilroy Says He’s Spent Enough Time On Star Wars And Has Other Things In Mind

Star Wars: Andor season two is easily the Star Wars franchise’s most highly anticipated Disney+ release at the moment, but the stellar season will be a bittersweet experience for fans for a multitude of reasons, and one of those reasons has just been plainly confirmed.

Star Wars: Andor holds the often unflattering distinction of being one of the franchise’s most expensive endeavors on Disney+, but almost no one will argue that the series wasn’t well worth the cost. Serving as a prequel to Rogue One, which is itself a direct prequel to the events of the original Star Wars trilogy, Andor was helmed by Rogue One writer and uncredited reshoot director Tony Gilroy. Gilroy was given a mandate to stay away from overt references and callbacks in the show, letting it stand on its own as a remarkably grounded and compelling character-focused story. After a successful first season on the streamer, Andor was renewed for a second (and confirmed to be last) season for Disney+.

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Despite doing so well that Andor’s second season is integral to Star Wars’ Disney+ future, Kathleen Kennedy recently cast doubt on whether or not showrunner Tony Gilroy would be returning for other projects within the franchise after the conclusion of the upcoming final installment. While that stance struck many as odd, it’s now clear that Kennedy’s hands are tied on the matter alongside everyone else at Lucasfilm. Speaking to Collider at a preview of the upcoming season of Andor, Gilroy revealed that he was behind the decision to not return to the franchise for more work following the conclusion of Andor, and highlighted just how long he’d already given to the franchise. “I’ve been peripherally involved for 10 years and intensely involved for six years,” Gilroy explained, “so that’s a pretty big chunk of my life. There are other things to do. I think when it’s done, I will have left a pretty big piece of Star Wars real estate behind. I’m not feeling guilty about not chipping in.”

Gilroy would have indeed left a large piece of real estate at the franchise when he exits, and what a piece it is. Andor has been able to bring to the small screen the sort of nuanced perspectives you often only see in Star Wars books and other media that’s less emphasized, and has done it while still keeping massive mainstream appeal. With the return of the franchise to the big screen with The Mandalorian & Grogu, it’s all but guaranteed that any new Disney+ Star Wars projects that get the green light going forward will owe that confidence in part to Andor, much in the same way the first few had the way paved for them by The Mandalorian. The characters and lore of the series won’t be left alone, either, as the corner of the galaxy that Gilroy carved out will be ripe for adaptations and spinoffs elsewhere, from potential video games to comics to book series all directly or indirectly inspired by his work. When the man says he doesn’t feel guilty about taking a hike, no one can fault him.

Gilroy’s departure is certainly set in stone now, as there’s no doubt Kennedy and others have tried to dissuade him plenty already. That makes the upcoming season of his hit show all the more must-see for fans of the franchise. For its part, Lucasfilm isn’t going to waste their final bit of Gilroy’s magic, going as far as making 3 Star Wars: Andor episodes available on YouTube for free as part of the promotional campaign for the final season. With a show that speaks for itself so clearly, there’s almost no need to put together a short, well-edited highlight reel to get real fans pumped for the climactic arc that’s coming, and there’ll be more than a few new Disney+ subscribers left when all is said and done with Andor.

Star Wars: Andor is available to stream on Disney+, with the second season set to premiere on April 22, 2025.

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Source: Collider