Nothing good comes out of a pandemic, unless you consider one of the best Star Wars products ever made. Showrunner Tony Gilroy was in over his head about making Andor and secretly hoping to get out of it.
Gilroy confessed in a recent conversation with Vanity Fair that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy brought him into the project, but he had little to no clarity regarding the production scale. When COVID-19 started to spread and the pandemic was announced, he almost felt relieved.
"Kathleen Kennedy kind of seduced me into it," Gilroy said. "There was a period of time where I really wanted the show to die, and I wanted to get out of it."
"When COVID came, I thought, Oh, thank God. COVID will kill the show, and I won’t have to do it. So there was a long period of time where I was like, I can’t believe she got me into this."
Although he already had the script ready and the casting process was underway, Gilroy still felt underprepared about making the show.
"I was just absolutely naive about what it would take to make the show. I really did not know what I was doing at all, in terms of the scope of work. So when COVID came, it was like, Oh, you know what? That’s a sign from God, no show."
Ironically, it was the break during COVID that helped him make the show at the end. "We figured out a system to do it and got enough of a reset and a deep breath," Gilroy added.
However, he doesn't want to make any more Star Wars for the moment. For his next project, he is eyeing a film about movie music with Oscar Isaac. He would be directing, and the money is right, Gilroy revealed.
Filming for Andor Season 1 started in November 2020 and wrapped up in September 2021, right through the pandemic. The first three episodes were released a year later, in September 2022. The show was riveting from the get-go, bringing back the similar flavor of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but with grittier undertones.
Filming of Andor season 2 also faced delays due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Kathleen Kennedy forced Andor to happen
Tony Gilroy may have lost faith in Andor, but Kathleen Kennedy never did. According to Gilroy, she defended the series and fought for the production team to get what they wanted.
"She has protected the show and protected me and wrangled a team together. When we started challenging Kathy, Kathy just kept saying yes," Gilroy stated.
"'Oh, I’m going to put the first scene in a brothel.' 'Okay.' 'I’m going to have them kill two cops.' 'Okay.' 'We want the production designer from Chernobyl.' 'Okay, good idea.' She backed our play and got everything that we were doing."
"For all the (expletive) that she takes online, it’s just insane. This show exists because she forced it to happen. What a tough job she has, man."