‘Andor’ series creator Tony Gilroy talks season 2 : NPR

Tony Gilroy at Lucasfilm’s Andor Season 2 Launch Event held at El Capitan Theatre on April 14 in Los Angeles.

JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images

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JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images

Before Luke Skywalker, Cassian Andor and a band of galactic leaders and rebels fought against the Galactic Empire.

Star Wars fans will now get the full story of their efforts and how the rebellion was born in the second and final season of the critically acclaimed series Andor. The show’s final season premiered on Disney Plus this week.

Unlike most of Star Wars‘ other installments, Andor is a grittier story. There are no Jedi Knights (so far, anyway) – just ruthless officers of the Galactic Empire and rebels taking big risks to fight back. Their challenges to the Galactic Empire include heisting millions of credits and working in secret to form alliances in the capital of the galaxy.

The series stars Diego Luna as the thief-turned-rebel spy Cassian Andor, who at the end of season one, committed to the rebellion cause.

The show’s creator, the screenwriter and director Tony Gilroy, joined Morning Edition ahead of the premier to discuss season two.

Where viewers will find Cassian Andor

Gilroy described the show’s first season as “the making of a revolutionary.”

Cassian is “someone who could care less about anything but themselves, who, over the course of some months and a variety of really extreme circumstances, becomes incredibly radicalised,” Gilroy said.

At the close of the first season, Cassian made a commitment to the rebellion. And season two starts off with him as a leader, Gilroy continued.

Diego Luna as Cassian Andor.

Des Willie/Lucasfilm Ltd.

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Des Willie/Lucasfilm Ltd.

In the first episode of season two, Andor speaks to Niya, a newly minted rebel struggling with her decision to betray an empire facility on behalf of the rebellion.

“The Empire cannot win. You’ll never feel right unless you are doing what you can to stop them,” Cassian tells the character. “You’re coming home to yourself.”

Gilroy said the scene shows how “he’s become an inspirational advocate for the rebellion. He’s also reminding himself of this terrifying thing that he’s about to do and how important it is.”

The growing pains of the rebellion

In season one, Cassian’s mentor Luthen Rael, played by Stellan Skarsgård, is a “revolutionary accelerationist,” building a rebel network in secret, Gilroy said.

“If you’ve been building up a revolution in your garage, right, how do you go public? How do you take secrecy out into the world?” Gilroy said. “I mean, how do you play with others? How do you manage your people without driving them crazy?”

Luthen’s commitment to the rebellion is “total,” Gilroy said, to the point that he has essentially “immolated his life” for the cause. That doesn’t always work for everybody, Gilroy said, adding that “Not everybody wants to make that commitment, and not everybody works at their best with that as the rules.”

How real world events inspired Andor

How war and revolution is depicted in Andor was “utterly and completely” inspired by real world history and events, Gilroy said.

“I’ve spent an incredible amount of time reading about revolutions and studying history, you know, in an idiot kind of way, a dinner table going away, but really fascinated with it,” Gilroy said.

In signing on to Andor, he added that “all of a sudden, here was an opportunity I can cherry pick through 6000 years of history.”

“I mean, is it the Roman revolution? Is it the English revolution? Is it the Russian Revolution? Is it the American Revolution? All the things I know about the Haitian revolution,” Gilroy said.

Three episodes of the 12-episode final season are streaming now on Disney Plus. Three more will be released every Tuesday until May 13.

The radio version of this story was produced by Lindsay Totty and edited by Barry Gordemer.