Jyn Erso wasn't a part of Andor Season 2, and now we know why. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gilroy revealed his thoughts on bringing Felicity Jones back for Season 2, and he was strictly against it from the start.
When asked about Rogue One cameos in Andor Season 2, Gilroy said he was only willing to bring back characters who were absolutely necessary to the plot and believes bringing Jyn back was a "lame" and "disrespectful" idea. He said he considered bringing Daniel Mays back as Tivik, the informant from Cassian's first scene in Rogue One, who was later shot by Cassian and died on the spot.
He decided against bringing Mays back to reprise his role, and somehow, he believed Jyn Erso was just as unimportant to the final arc of Andor as Tivik. He explains, "In the end, I realized if people didn't absolutely have to be there, they shouldn’t. And it would've been lame to bring Jyn back as a cameo. That would've been really disrespectful in a way. I'd rather honor Rogue and keep it straight.”
Although Gilroy didn't explain what he meant by keeping Rogue One "straight," it's probably his way of saying he wanted the final arc to be uncomplicated. I respect Tony Gilroy's work, but there were several logical ways to bring Jyn back and seamlessly weave her plot into the final arc. Seeing Jyn Erso in her pre-Rogue One days would've done wonders to enhance the movie.
A Jyn Erso cameo wasn't the only thing Gilroy had an opinion about. He also shared his thoughts on the Jyn and Cassian shippers, who have romantically shipped the pair since 2016. Gilroy believes these fans need to "reorient their thinking" about Jyn possibly being the love of Cassian's life. He told EW.com, “I mean, people who thought that was the love of his life are going to have to reorient their thinking.”
As one of the writers of Rogue One and the creator of Andor, I respect Gilroy's opinions, but I completely disagree with him. A Jyn Erso cameo would've been the best thing to come out of Andor for me, and I am one of the many fans who have shipped Jyn and Cassian since 2016. While the Bix and Cassian relationship was lovely to see, and I adore Adria Arjona's wonderful performance as Bix Caleen, that hasn't done much, if anything, to change my mind about Diego Luna and Felicity Jones's chemistry in Rogue One.
There was a romantic angle to Jyn and Cassian's relationship that Felicity and Diego acknowledged throughout the Rogue One promotional tour. It was further enhanced in the Rogue One novelization by Alexander Freed. While Andor has been a huge disappointment for me, as a Jyn Erso fan. As Cassian's arc this season did not meet my expectations, I don't believe it did anything to change how I feel about Jyn and Cassian's chemistry.
In fact, instead of discouraging the shippers, Tony Gilroy should be glad that the lead actors of Rogue One had so much chemistry, as it means they did their job well. Cassian hadn't been with Bix for a year when he met Jyn, and there was no guarantee he would've reunited with her if he had survived. Jyn and Cassian did like each other, and you can see this from their scenes after Galen Erso's death.
The tragedy of Rogue One is that they never got to explore their connection because they died before they could define their relationship, but no one can convince me that Cassian didn't have the right to fall in love a second time.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is streaming on Disney+.