Tony Gilroy, the mastermind behind the critically acclaimed Star Wars series Andor, has shared his thoughts on what he would do if he were put in charge of Lucasfilm. The celebrated writer and director, who spent six years building the gritty rebellion drama, isn’t interested in giving orders from the top. Instead, he believes the galaxy far, far away needs more creative freedom, not less.
Gilroy recently opened up about his time making Andor, which he calls “the seminal creative experience” of his life, and offered a simple but powerful piece of advice for the future of the franchise. His message to Lucasfilm is clear: let filmmakers take big risks and explore every weird corner of the galaxy.
Tony Gilroy Doesn’t Want to Give Orders, He Wants to Set Creatives Free
When asked what he would do if he were suddenly running Lucasfilm, Tony Gilroy didn’t describe a grand plan or a massive overhaul. He focused on something much simpler: getting out of the way and letting artists be themselves.
During interviews ahead of the Emmys, Gilroy explained that the biggest lesson Lucasfilm should learn from Andor is to encourage filmmakers to “let their freak flag fly.” He believes the galaxy is big enough for all kinds of stories, from massive space battles to intimate character dramas.
Gilroy noted that with billions of beings in the Star Wars galaxy and countless unexplored corners, there is room for every type of story. He hinted that Lucasfilm is already moving in this direction, saying there are “some things that they’re doing that are really unusual” and that the lesson from Andor has “been taken to heart.”
The creator emphasized that he doesn’t want the studio to simply try to make Andor version 2.0. He hopes his show serves as a launchpad that proves “you can do anything” within the Star Wars universe, whether that is a horror project, a political thriller, or something else entirely.
Building Andor Was an Obsessive, All-Consuming Experience
Tony Gilroy revealed just how intensely personal and detailed the making of Andor truly was. He described the six-year process as the most creatively demanding work of his career, where every single detail on screen was the result of hundreds of conversations.
“We thought about every single buttonhole in that show,” Gilroy admitted, underscoring the obsessive craftsmanship that went into each frame. From building entire cultures from scratch to co-writing a national anthem for the planet Ghorman, Gilroy and his team left no stone unturned.
He explained that creating the planet and culture of Ghorman felt like “playing God.” The team built the language, economy, and aesthetic of the society before they even wrote the scenes. This level of detail is what gives Andor its rich, lived-in feel that fans have come to love.
Gilroy’s production designer, Luke Hull, was his number one creative collaborator. Before any writers or directors came on board, Gilroy and Hull were already deep in conversation about what Ghorman would look like and how its people would live. This world-building first approach allowed the story to feel authentic and grounded.
Disney Asked Gilroy to Avoid One Specific Word in Andor Promotion
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tony Gilroy revealed that Disney asked him and the cast not to use the word “fascism” in early publicity for Andor.
Gilroy explained that Andor was always conceived as an examination of authoritarianism, with story elements consciously echoing tactics seen throughout history. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “We studied history to make the show, and we based it on historical models. We don’t have a crystal ball. There’s comps for everything that we did all through history.”
To work around the request, Gilroy and star Diego Luna adopted a historical framing in interviews. They discussed the show’s themes by referring to historical events rather than contemporary politics, allowing them to convey the show’s intent without pushing the actors into political statements.
No Rivalry Between Andor and The Mandalorian
Tony Gilroy also took time to shut down rumors of a rivalry between himself and Dave Filoni, the creative force behind The Mandalorian and other animated Star Wars projects.
Speculation had circulated that Filoni disliked Andor because it took a more grounded approach compared to the more fantastical elements of his shows. Gilroy dismissed this completely, describing their few interactions as cordial.
“No. We’ve only met a couple times, and we’ve only had a half-a-dozen conversations over the last ten years,” Gilroy said, addressing the supposed rift. He credited The Mandalorian’s success for making Andor possible in the first place, noting that the popularity of that show gave Lucasfilm the confidence to greenlight more experimental projects.
Lucasfilm has also denied the claim, and Dave Filoni has publicly praised Andor on multiple occasions.
The Ghorman Massacre Was Built From the Ground Up
One of the most talked-about moments in Andor season 2 is the Ghorman Massacre, a pivotal event in Star Wars lore. Tony Gilroy explained how his team approached building this scene from scratch.
“Absent all the housekeeping that we did with the calendar, and getting the Ghorman massacres lined up the way they should be, right? We have the Tarkin Massacre from Legends, and there was some confusion about where things were on the calendar. And there’s nothing canonical about Ghorman whatsoever,” Gilroy told The AV Club.
The team started by building Ghorman itself, creating a reason for the massacre to happen. Gilroy linked it to the Emperor’s Energy Project (the show’s coded language for the Death Star), giving every character a legitimate reason to be on the planet at the same time.
“It was also encouraging, in a productive-writing kind of way, to see how Ghorman could be the very attractive point of convergence for Luthen and the Empire. Everybody wants to be there,” Gilroy explained. “All these pieces are lining up in a way [that makes] you kind of go, ‘Okay, this is gonna be a big deal.’”
The attention to detail extended all the way down to the planet’s national anthem. “You can imagine, by looking at it, how much work goes into it. All kinds of different pieces and all the departments. What are we capable of? Taking it down to its smallest level. It gets down into the national anthem. It gets down into, ‘What would that be like?’”
Andor’s Second and Final Season Is Coming Soon
Fans won’t have to wait much longer to see the conclusion of Tony Gilroy’s masterpiece. The second and final season of Andor will debut on Disney+ on April 22, 2026.
The new season consists of 12 episodes and will be released in a unique format. Disney+ will drop three episodes every week for four weeks, allowing viewers to experience the story in four distinct chapters.
Each block of three episodes covers one year in the four-year journey leading directly into the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The season brings back Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, along with Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael, and Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera.
Fans will also be thrilled to know that Alan Tudyk returns as the voice of the beloved droid K-2SO, and Ben Mendelsohn is back as Imperial Director Krennic.
Tony Gilroy has called this second season his most significant work, telling the Writers Guild of America East, “I’ve been on Andor for five years now; we’re finishing the second half. I’ve…” before trailing off, emphasizing just how much of himself he has poured into this project.
Why Gilroy Won’t Make Another Show Like Andor
Despite the critical success of Andor, Tony Gilroy has made it clear that he won’t be doing anything like it again. He told The Hollywood Reporter that he can’t see himself taking on another project of this scale.
“For five and a half years, every single day of my life, I had a maximally imaginative involvement that was never complete—writing, designing, music, casting, all of it. Every demand on your imagination that could ever be asked was screaming for your attention,” Gilroy explained. “That’s a pretty heady place to live. I grew to love it. But I can’t imagine that I would ever be that fully engaged again.”
Gilroy admitted that he had “no clue” what he was stepping into when he agreed to make the show. His naivete about the scope of the project was “staggering” to him just six months in. He initially planned to direct and rewrite all the scripts himself, a workload he now describes as “ridiculous.”
The COVID-19 pandemic actually saved the show in Gilroy’s view. The shutdown forced him to step back from directing and focus on writing and running the show remotely. This new system, built on exquisitely detailed scripts, became the model for the entire production.
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The Future of Star Wars Looks Bright, According to Gilroy
Tony Gilroy believes the future of Star Wars is brighter than ever. His comments about Lucasfilm allowing creators to “let their freak flag fly” suggest that the studio is finally moving away from the overly nostalgic approach that dominated the early Disney era.
With The Mandalorian and Grogu set for release next year and filming recently beginning on Shawn Levy’s Starfighter, Lucasfilm seems to have figured out how to make a production pipeline work. Gilroy hinted that some of the new projects in development are “really unusual” and will surprise fans.
For Tony Gilroy, the goal was always to prove that Star Wars could be more than just lightsabers and space battles. With Andor, he showed that the galaxy far, far away could also be a place for serious drama, political intrigue, and deep character study. Now, he hopes the next generation of filmmakers will take that ball and run with it, exploring every corner of a galaxy with billions of stories waiting to be told.
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