Tony Gilroy has revealed that Andor Season 2 will navigate established Star Wars canon with a mix of respect and creative liberty while also playfully noting how The Mandalorian broke ground by introducing bathrooms to the galaxy far, far away. In a new interview with Empire magazine, the showrunner discussed the challenges of moving his critically acclaimed series closer to the events of Rogue One while dealing with canonical constraints from both films and animated shows like Star Wars: Rebels. These revelations come as the series prepares for its second and final season, which will compress Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) four-year journey to becoming a dedicated Rebel operative through an innovative storytelling structure.
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“The highlights [of the Star Wars canon] are on the calendar. But after ten years, we’ve invented vastly more canon than we’ve ever had to [adhere to],” Gilroy explained. He then humorously noted one particular restriction that had previously existed in the Star Wars universe. “When we started on Rogue, there were things that we couldn’t do at all. You couldn’t have a bathroom! Then they had a bathroom on Mandalorian. ‘Wait, we were gonna do a bathroom in Rogue! How do they get to do a bathroom?!’”
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“There are certain things [in canon] that we are beholden to, and [others] that are really great opportunities for us. [The massacre at] Ghorman is a big opportunity,” Gilroy stated. “Everybody knows that Mon Mothma leaves the Senate because of Ghorman. At the same time, there isn’t a single thing written about Ghorman,” Gilroy revealed. “Ghorman’s a blank slate. There’s no consistency between what Legends [non-canonical novels] says about it, and a lot of conflicts within the canon itself.” This lack of concrete details gives the creative team the freedom to develop their own interpretation while still honoring the established timeline. “So we honour the calendar, and we’ve made our choices. Some are sneaky, some are bold, some are right in your face. Everybody at Lucasfilm knows what we’ve been doing, we haven’t had any arguments. We’ve straightened some stuff out, I hope.”
The Ghorman Massacre is referenced in Star Wars lore as an incident where Imperial forces, allegedly under Wilhuff Tarkin’s command, landed a cruiser on peaceful protesters, killing many civilians. While mentioned in various materials, the event has never been depicted on screen, giving Andor a unique opportunity to visualize this pivotal moment in Rebellion history.
Andor Season 2 Will Explore Four Years of Rebellion
Season 2 of Andor will follow a unique structure with four blocks of three episodes, each representing a different year in Cassian’s journey. This format will allow the series to cover significant ground while still maintaining the focused storytelling that made the first season so acclaimed. According to previous interviews with Gilroy, the structure emerged as a solution after realizing that the original five-season plan for Andor was impractical due to production realities and concerns about Diego Luna aging beyond what would make sense for a prequel to Rogue One.
Season 2 of Andor will also explore the formation of the Rebel Alliance from disparate resistance groups, charting how these factions gradually united against the Empire. Returning characters will include Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera and Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, showing how the iconic droid first partners with Cassian. Additionally, Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael will continue his journey as the series delves deeper into his mysterious background and his role as what Gilroy has previously described as an “accelerationist” who deliberately provokes Imperial crackdowns to fuel rebellion.
Disney+ will release three episodes of Andor Season 2 each week beginning April 22nd, with subsequent releases on April 29th, May 6th, and May 13th.
What other classic Rebellion marks do you think Andor Season 2 will explore? Share your theories in the comments!
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Image Credit: Warner Bros.
