Star Wars: Rogue One's Tony Gilroy Reveals Talk With George Lucas, "Like Call From The President"

It's been a long time since original Star Wars director George Lucas was in charge of a project, but the creator behind one of the biggest franchises in history still visits sets and stays in touch with those continuing the world he began back in 1977. In fact, Star Wars: Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy recently spoke with Deadline about his own history with Star Wars and revealed what it was like to get a call from Lucas. Before Gilroy was in charge of Andor, he co-write Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which was well-received by critics, fans, and Lucas. 

"George Lucas called me after Rogue, I had a 45-minute conversation with him after he saw Rogue, and that's the only time I've ever spoken to him. He loved it. He really did. He had a lot of things to say that I... It was like a call from the president," Gilroy shared. 

Previously, The Mandalorian's second unit director Sam Hargrave compared Lucas' set visit to getting a visit from Yoda himself. 

"I was there but, I mean, I was working on another stage," Hargrave recalled to Collider. "But I did pass through, and I saw him there. He was actually – you would've thought that the real Yoda had showed up. I mean, he kind of did. But there was more people there that day than any other day on any other, you know, episode of the whole season. That was as if you were at Comic-Con on the stage where he was. It was crazy."

Will the Writers' Strike Delay Andor Season 2?

Previously, it was reported that the second season of Andor would not be delayed due to the WGA strike, but Gilroy announced a few days later that things had changed.

"I discontinued all writing and writing-related work on Andor prior to midnight, May 1. After being briefed on the Saturday showrunner meeting, I informed Chris Keyser at the WGA on Sunday morning that I would also be ceasing all non-writing producing functions," Gilroy said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. 

A couple of days before Gilroy announced the halt of production, he found himself in the midst of a controversy after Deli Boys writer Abdullah Saeed called him a "scab" in an Instagram post.

"This is scabbing. There's no way a writer/producer can 'finish' writing and begin solely producing. And if the scripts truly are finished, let's see 'em," Saeed said in a post on Instagram. "If there's one word different in the finished product, kick Tony Gilroy out of the WGA. One of the biggest writers in Hollywood could stand with his union and halt production on his hit show, thereby by forcing a major studio to consider WGA demands a little harder. Instead, he has chosen to be a SCAB! We all want Andor s2, but not at the cost of fairness to writers. #wgastrong"

For now, the second season of Star Wars: Andor is slated to premiere in August 2024 on Disney+.