Andor Creator Breaks Silence on Why This Fan-Favorite Star Wars Character Didn’t Return

Star Wars: Andor creator Tony Gilroy explains why Kino Loy, the fan-favorite character portrayed by Andy Serkis in Season 1, did not return for Season 2. As Andor finished its run this week, the showrunner sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the final season and the series as a whole. Kino Loy’s whereabouts were discussed. When asked if he considered bringing the character back (perhaps as a member of the Rebellion on Yavin IV), Gilroy shed light on his decision. He felt Kino’s arc in Season 1 would have been too difficult to top and having him return would have undercut what made that story so special.

“Andy dropped the mic, man. What am I going to do that’s going to be better than what we did?” Gilroy said. “All it does is minimize that moment [where Loy reveals ‘I can’t swim’ after breaking out of the island prison]. I knew a lot of people were talking about whether we had a way of [bringing him back]. But I didn’t want to have that sort of coincidental environment.”

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Kino Loy is introduced in Andor Season 1 during the Narkina 5 arc. At the Imperial prison where Cassian is being incarcerated, Kino works as the day shift floor manager, overseeing one of the many groups of inmates that are unknowingly building the Death Star for the Empire. At first, Kino just wants to serve the rest of his sentence and go home, but he eventually helps Cassian spearhead a prison breakout. He is unable to join Cassian, Melshi, and the rest since the one way out of Narkina 5 leads to a body of water.

The fate of Kino Loy is unknown; the character isn’t seen on screen after Cassian and Melshi swim away to safety. Prior to the release of Andor Season 2, Serkis addressed the possibility of returning, admitting that there were “no discussions at all” about what might have happened to Kino after the prison riot. Serkis did note that audiences didn’t see Kino die, suggesting the character could still be alive during the events of Season 2.

Serkis’ performance as Kino was a definite highlight of Andor Season 1, punctuated by his gripping speech in “One Way Out.” But even though the character was quite well-received, it’s probably for the best he wasn’t featured in Season 2. Though Andor is part of a large franchise and has several connections to previous Star Wars projects, it was never a show that engaged in typical fan service developments, such as having a beloved character coincidentally return. Given the amount of ground Andor Season 2 had to cover as it built up to Rogue One, there wasn’t really a natural spot to include Kino. At the end of the day, he served his role in the overall story, making an impact on Cassian during a specific period of his life.

Gilroy’s approach was a main reason why Andor was as successful as it was, so it’s hard to argue against him. “One Way Out” is such a powerful moment that trying to follow up on that seems like an impossible task. If Gilroy conceived an organic way to bring Kino back into the fold, he likely would have done it, but since no options presented themselves, it was better to leave the character behind. Though there probably won’t be any more on-screen exploits for Kinoy, perhaps Lucasfilm could continue his story in a novel or comic series. Fans would certainly be interested in learning about what happened to him after Andor Season 1, providing a greater sense of closure.