Andor has been a hit for Disney+, breaking new ground in the galaxy far, far away. The series currently holds a 91% critic and 82% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, up with The Mandalorian as the best Disney+ Star Wars property on the streaming giant. The series stars Diego Luna in the lead role alongside Stellan Skarsgård, Alex Ferns, Genevieve O'Reilly, Kyle Soller, and Wilf Scolding.
Tony Gilroy, creator, and writer of Andor, who previously penned Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, recently spoke with StarWars.com and shared what he believes separates his show from previous works in the Star Wars universe. Through six episodes, we've seen a different part of the galaxy, one filled with regular citizens trying to escape the harshness of the Empire. But, of course, this was the plan for Gilroy, who wanted to avoid major cameos or characters from the Skywalker Saga of films.
"This is a chance to do a show about the ordinary people of this galaxy and these tectonic, revolutionary pressures that are being put on them from all sides. Thrillers are always people under pressure. Usually there's an outer problem, but what's great is all of the outer pressures that weigh down on people expose all of the other problems that they have in their lives. So if someone's marriage is bad, whether you're gonna inform on the neighbor across the hall puts a whole new pressure on that. It's regular people under pressure and, in a thriller, that's the buy-in from the beginning."
Gilroy's approach to Andor is paying off, with six episodes left in the first season. Fans can tune into Andor streaming on Disney+ every Wednesday.
Andor Leads Into Rogue: One A Star Wars Story
Audiences first learned of Luna's character, Andor, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. There is certainly a lot that occurs between the events of Andor and Rogue One, which Gilroy calls "The Education of Cassian Andor."
"He has so much to learn," Gilroy explains to StarWars.com. "It's the road to Damascus for him. It's real education. There's a pivotal moment where he can no longer pretend that he's completely unaffected by the Empire anymore. He can no longer pretend that he's gonna be a mercenary." Gilroy continues, "He can no longer have one foot in and one foot out. He's in such a deep, deep problem... He has to make some really big decisions about who he's gonna be."
Andor is already prepared for a second season, as the series was initially planned for a two-season, 12-episode arch for his character. Fans can see the first half of season 1, available now on Disney+.