Andor concluded its second and final season on May 13, 2025, delivering a gripping finale that left fans reflecting on its bold storytelling and mature themes. As someone who just finished watching, I was honestly blown away by how different this series felt compared to traditional Star Wars. Andor goes deep into the complexities of rebellion, sacrifice, and the true cost of war, raising the bar for the entire franchise.
At this point, I’d say it’s one of the best Star Wars series ever made. When you put Andor seasons 1 and 2 together with Rogue One, you get a seamless story that leads directly into A New Hope. A lot of fans would agree with me—Andor and Rogue One together form the best Star Wars “trilogy” we’ve had since the Original and Prequel Trilogies.
But I’m not here to convince anyone how great the series is; if you’ve watched it, you already know why Andor stands out. Instead, I want to highlight something that often goes overlooked: without the right people behind the scenes, Andor might never have happened. Kathleen Kennedy was one of the main champions who made sure this series saw the light of day, even when Tony Gilroy himself doubted it and, at times, hoped it wouldn’t move forward.
That sounds crazy, right? But let’s get into the story behind the story—specifically, what Tony Gilroy revealed to Vanity Fair. You can read the full interview for all the details, but here’s the part that really matters: Gilroy openly shared how Kathleen Kennedy protected Andor and was determined to make it happen.
To really understand how Andor survived some serious behind-the-scenes challenges, just look at what Tony Gilroy himself said in the interview. Even before she was running Lucasfilm, Gilroy had worked with Kathleen Kennedy for years on the Bourne movies, so there was a relationship there. But even with that history, the process of making Andor was anything but easy.
Gilroy admits that at one point, he was desperate for the show to die. He says, “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.” The scope of the project had him completely overwhelmed. “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.”
But during that unexpected pause, Gilroy and the team actually figured out how to make Andor work. He describes that time as a reset that gave everyone a deep breath and a fresh perspective.
Through all of this, Kathleen Kennedy was the constant. Gilroy is very direct about her impact: “She has protected the show and protected me and wrangled a team together.” What’s wild is that whenever Gilroy and the creative team pushed the envelope—proposing things like starting the series in a brothel, killing two cops in the first episode, or bringing on the production designer from Chernobyl—Kennedy just kept saying yes. “She backed our play and got everything that we were doing,” Gilroy recalls. “There’s no show without her. For all the shit that she takes online, it’s just insane. This show exists because she forced it to happen. What a tough job she has, man.”