Tony Gilroy on What’s Different in ‘Andor’ Season 2, Building the Rebel Alliance, and More
In the latest episode of Dagobah Dispatch, Entertainment Weekly’s Star Wars-themed podcast, Andor writer and executive producer Tony Gilroy talked about what’s different going into season 2, and what it’s like for the separate factions of the rebellion to come together and unite under one banner. Gilroy also discussed a bit more about the time jumps featured in season 2 and about possible returning characters from Rogue One.
Season 2 of the critically acclaimed Star Wars show, Andor, is currently in production. During this year’s Star Wars Celebration, a few of the cast members, alongside series showrunner, Tony Gilroy, talked with audiences about what to expect with season 2, where the story goes, and the feedback from season 1. This is also where Entertainment Weekly interviewed Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna for their podcast, Dagobah Dispatch.
When asked about what was the biggest difference going from making season 1 to making season 2, Gilroy responded succinctly:
The expectations…The responsibility that we have to the characters we’ve set up… And our responsibility to bring it home efficiently. But mostly, it’s to [make it] pay off emotionally and stick the landing.
Gilroy was then asked about how the Rebellion will form in season 2. One of the major themes in Andor is the theme of disunity and specifically, how the separate factions of the soon-to-be rebellion are in a state of disorder. When asked about how that will change in season 2, Gilroy had an interesting response, comparing it to modern politics.
The Rebel Alliance that emerges on Yavin is almost like the Christian Democrats. It’s a consolidated, compromised group. But what happened to the original gangsters, and the hardcore people who built that road? What happened to them? And how do they integrate with [the Rebel Alliance]? That’ll be a lot of what we’re doing.
Gilroy was also asked about the time jumps that will be featured in Andor season 2. Gilroy has revealed in the past that every three episodes of season 2 will jump forward in time a year, bringing audiences very close to the beginning of Rogue One. Gilroy explained a little more of what that means.
It’s a really interesting writing responsibility. We’re gonna use negative space in a really interesting way with these gaps. There will be four gaps. There will be the gap before you start [episode] one. And each block will have a year between it. The trick is to make it worth it.
We stay for a very short period of time. What’s the most important three, four, five days a year later?… And how do you tell it without doing any of the awkward exposition?
Finally, Gilroy responded to whether there will be any returning characters from Rogue One in Andor season 2:
Yes. The answer is yes. There are some that are inevitable. There are some that are surprising. There are some that we probably can’t get for various reasons.
Andor season 2 is currently in production and is set to premiere on Disney Plus in August 2024.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
