Tony Gilroy Reflects on ANDOR's Shift From Five-Season Plan: “We Had No Idea What We Were Getting Into”

When Andor was first concieved, the idea was to create a sprawling five-season journey chronicling Cassian Andor’s transformation into a key rebel figure. But as the show got underway, creator Tony Gilroy quickly realized that ambition had a limit, and maybe that was for the best.“We had no idea what we were getting into when we started. We really didn’t know,” Gilroy admitted in a recent conversation with GamesRadar+. “I mean, it’s as if you said you’re going to walk to the corner and get a soda, and you had to walk a continent.”The original five-season blueprint was quietly scrapped in favor of something more focused, and far more manageable for the creative team. Season 2, which will also serve as the series’ conclusion, is now structured around four key time jumps. Each three-episode arc covers a year, essentially playing out like four standalone mini-films.Gilroy calls this pivot “born of necessity,” explaining, “We were just all of a sudden realizing how much we were going to have to do. We couldn’t physically do it. It would take too long.” Looking back, he has no regrets: “No, I wouldn’t want to do the five seasons.”The restructured format also became a storytelling opportunity. “We realized that we had four sections that we were making and we had four years to cover, so a solution was very elegant. But then the question became, could you make those jumps without having lots of exposition?”To figure it out, Gilroy and his team tested the structure by writing just the beginnings and ends of each arc. What started as a problem quickly turned into a creative thrill. “It got really fun for the writers and for everybody,” he said. “What had been a problem for us became something very, very exciting… It was energizing.”The show's cast embraced the challenge too. Stellan Skarsgård, who plays the rebel mastermind Luthen Rael, appreciated the freedom the time jumps offered: “I didn’t find it tricky… it is, in a way, liberating to not have to continually explain what’s happening, to be able to go to the important things, no matter if they’re a year later or so.”Genevieve O’Reilly, returning as Mon Mothma, added: “I felt there was a real freedom in the structure of it. Like you said they’re almost like four films… sometimes just a weekend, and [I got] to really play in that, and then to leave it and to drop in somewhere else.”Season One of the series followed “Cassian’s reluctant journey from cynical nobody to revolutionary volunteer. Andor Season Two will see him transform from soldier to leader to hero on the way to his epic destiny. From the very first scene, Cassian’s story has activated an ever-widening ensemble of allies and enemies. Season Two will see “these relationships intensify as the horizon of galactic war draws near. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices, and conflicting agendas will become profound. Who will live to see their dream realized? Who will realize what the dream cost?”Along with Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, the returning cast includes Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu and Forest Whitaker. Ben Mendelsohn is also back as Imperial officer Orson Krennic and Alan Tudyk as K-2SO. Gilroy penned the first three episodes, while Beau Willimon, Dan Gilroy, and Tom Bissell each take over subsequent blocks. Directing duties are also split into three phases: Ariel Kleiman handles the first half (Episodes 1–6), Janus Metz takes the next three, and Alonso Ruizpalacios wraps things up with the final episodes (10–12).Andor Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ on April 22, 2025. Here’s how the episodes will be released April 22: Episodes 1–3, April 29: Episodes 4–6, May 6: Episodes 7–9, and May 13: Episodes 10–12.

Apr 17, 2025 - 15:02

Tony Gilroy Reflects on ANDOR's Shift From Five-Season Plan: “We Had No Idea What We Were Getting Into”

When Andor was first concieved, the idea was to create a sprawling five-season journey chronicling Cassian Andor’s transformation into a key rebel figure. But as the show got underway, creator Tony Gilroy quickly realized that ambition had a limit, and maybe that was for the best.

“We had no idea what we were getting into when we started. We really didn’t know,” Gilroy admitted in a recent conversation with GamesRadar+. “I mean, it’s as if you said you’re going to walk to the corner and get a soda, and you had to walk a continent.”

The original five-season blueprint was quietly scrapped in favor of something more focused, and far more manageable for the creative team.

Season 2, which will also serve as the series’ conclusion, is now structured around four key time jumps. Each three-episode arc covers a year, essentially playing out like four standalone mini-films.

Gilroy calls this pivot “born of necessity,” explaining, “We were just all of a sudden realizing how much we were going to have to do. We couldn’t physically do it. It would take too long.” Looking back, he has no regrets: “No, I wouldn’t want to do the five seasons.”

The restructured format also became a storytelling opportunity. “We realized that we had four sections that we were making and we had four years to cover, so a solution was very elegant. But then the question became, could you make those jumps without having lots of exposition?”

To figure it out, Gilroy and his team tested the structure by writing just the beginnings and ends of each arc. What started as a problem quickly turned into a creative thrill.

“It got really fun for the writers and for everybody,” he said. “What had been a problem for us became something very, very exciting… It was energizing.”

The show's cast embraced the challenge too. Stellan Skarsgård, who plays the rebel mastermind Luthen Rael, appreciated the freedom the time jumps offered:

“I didn’t find it tricky… it is, in a way, liberating to not have to continually explain what’s happening, to be able to go to the important things, no matter if they’re a year later or so.”

Genevieve O’Reilly, returning as Mon Mothma, added: “I felt there was a real freedom in the structure of it. Like you said they’re almost like four films… sometimes just a weekend, and [I got] to really play in that, and then to leave it and to drop in somewhere else.”

Season One of the series followed “Cassian’s reluctant journey from cynical nobody to revolutionary volunteer. Andor Season Two will see him transform from soldier to leader to hero on the way to his epic destiny. From the very first scene, Cassian’s story has activated an ever-widening ensemble of allies and enemies.

Season Two will see “these relationships intensify as the horizon of galactic war draws near. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices, and conflicting agendas will become profound. Who will live to see their dream realized? Who will realize what the dream cost?”

Along with Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, the returning cast includes Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu and Forest Whitaker. Ben Mendelsohn is also back as Imperial officer Orson Krennic and Alan Tudyk as K-2SO.

Gilroy penned the first three episodes, while Beau Willimon, Dan Gilroy, and Tom Bissell each take over subsequent blocks. Directing duties are also split into three phases: Ariel Kleiman handles the first half (Episodes 1–6), Janus Metz takes the next three, and Alonso Ruizpalacios wraps things up with the final episodes (10–12).

Andor Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ on April 22, 2025. Here’s how the episodes will be released April 22: Episodes 1–3, April 29: Episodes 4–6, May 6: Episodes 7–9, and May 13: Episodes 10–12.