Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Deborah Chow, for example, are all die-hard Star Wars fans, which is why it makes sense for them to be in charge of shows like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, Andor's showrunner doesn't exactly count himself among those who eat, breathe, and sleep the iconic franchise.
Talking to SFX Magazine (via SFFGazette.com), Gilroy confessed that he's "not a fan fan" of Star Wars, though he didn't elaborate. However, we probably shouldn't cast too much doubt on his credentials as the filmmaker did co-write Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and that's considered one of the franchise's best movies.
Andor taking place around the same time as Star Wars Rebels and the Star Wars: Jedi video games has left fans eager to see some big character crossovers during the course of the show, but does Gilroy have the know-how to deliver? Luckily, it sounds like there's help on hand.
"Within Star Wars, within Wookiepedia, there’s got to be four or five levels of canon," he explains. "There’s film canon, cartoon canon, fan-fiction canon and all these different things - and for the larger issues we deal with [Star Wars Lore Advisor] Pablo Hidalgo."
It's hard to say what this means for the series, and while it's clearly going to be a very important chapter in the Star Wars mythos, it may also be largely standalone in nature. In other words, don't hold your breath for any huge cameos like Cal Kestis or the Rebels crew. Ultimately, for Gilroy, telling a "real" story proved to be most important to the showrunner.
"Our show is about ordinary people. They're behind the scenes, they’re going to build the road to the revolution. We’re really in the kitchen with these people – our people are back there washing dishes, so canon might be happening off stage, but what's happening for them is something completely different. That’s the overriding manifesto for our show - make it real."
Recently, Lucasfilm took to social media to share the release schedule for Andor. As you can see, we're getting three episodes on September 21 with the finale dropping on November 23.
It's going to be a busy couple of months for Star Wars fans, that's for sure!