Andor Showrunner Tony Gilroy Confirms Just How Much Creative Freedom He's Had From Lucasfilm

Tony Gilroy, the showrunner for Andor, has spoken about the creative freedom he’s been given by Disney and Lucasfilm to create what’s now renowned as Star Wars’ best TV show, and it’s quite surprising to hear. One of the reasons why Andor is considered Star Wars’ best is because of its boots-on-the-ground approach, showing a very realistic and gritty look at the earliest formation period of the Rebel Alliance. Andor season 2 is expected to get even more into this history as opposed to Cassian Andor’s own origin story, and as it turns out, plenty of freedom was granted.




In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, Gilroy opened up about the creative process of Andor, and how he was granted much more freedom than he was on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. “I never got any notes on this show,” Gilory revealed, which he accredits the “critical appreciation of the show” for. “In terms of creative notes,” Gilroy went on, “no-one has come to me and said ‘No, they shouldn’t say that.’“ This is rare for Star Wars today; it’s quite often that small things, such as what materials or terms characters use, are adjusted for galactic lingo.

In fact, Gilroy insists that his only roadblocks had nothing to do with Disney and Lucasfilm themselves. “Our limitations were economic and availability and production issues and Covid,” Gilory stated, “and a strike.” Aside from these factors, however, Gilroy had total freedom over his script, which allowed him to tell his singular vision without having to appease others.



Lucasfilm’s Approach With Andor Is So Very Unusual For Star Wars

They Typically Take A Heavy Hands-On Approach

This kind of freedom for a Star Wars project is pretty much unheard of, given how involved Lucasfilm typically is in making sure these projects are all cohesive with their terminology, appearances, and more. Lucasfilm prefers to have this consistency not just in Star Wars movies and TV shows, but also in their Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge theme parks, where workers are given very specific guidelines along which they have to follow for greetings, technology, and more. Andor, however, was allowed to operate somewhat outside this, which certainly had an impact.


Lucasfilm Need To Learn An Important Lesson From Andor

More Creative Freedom Leads To Better Stories

Clearly, the lesson that needs to be learned from Andor is that creative freedom works – and it works the best out of anything Lucasfilm’s done so far. Allowing Gilroy to follow his vision made Andor one of the best things Star Wars has ever achieved, both critically and among audiences. It hasn’t had to sacrifice its Star Wars elements to do so, either, which proves what placing trust upon its creators, even those with limited Star Wars knowledge. At the end of the day, it’s Andor‘s story that sells it, and Lucasfilm should keep letting storytellers do what Gilory’s done.

Andor season 2 premieres April 22 on Disney+.

Source: Empire Magazine