ANDOR Showrunner Tony Gilroy Says There Were Early Discussions About A Princess Leia Cameo

ANDOR Showrunner Tony Gilroy Says There Were Early Discussions About A Princess Leia Cameo

The second and final season of Andor concluded this week, and showrunner Tony Gilroy has now revealed that there were early discussions about including a cameo from Princess Leia...

By MarkCassidy - May 17, 2025 09:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Cassian Andor
Source: Via SFF Gazette.com

Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy has revealed that he did consider including a cameo from one of the original Star Wars trilogy's leads, Princess Leia Organa, in the second season, but the idea was ultimately scrapped.

"There were some conversations early on, there was much to be made. This is in the sketching stage," Gilroy told ScreenRant. "This is in the really soggy beginning, trying to figure out what to do because trying to figure out, I was trying to make that Investiture Week I idea. I was trying to get the most out of that investiture week and those parties, and we have Alden's party now… and we're making a thing out of it. And we were trying to find out on the timeline where she would be in the Senate."

While an appearance from either Luke Skywalker or Han Solo wouldn't have made much sense, Leia was already an active participant in the Rebellion prior to the destruction of the Death Star, and her father Bail Organa (Benjamin Bratt) played a key role in the final few episodes of Andor.

Even so, it was decided that a Leia cameo would simply be too much of a "distraction."

"There were some nutrients for a scene between her and Mothma that if she was going there at 16 and Mothma had gone to the Senate when she was 16, there was some basic cool things for a scene, but it never got past that, and it never went to the casting stage, or it never got more real than that. I remember talking to Kathy [Kennedy] about it and talking to Pablo [Hidalgo] about it, but it never got traction, and then it became a distraction."

In hindsight, this was probably for the best. Though there were a few little nods and references to the wider Star Wars universe here and there, Andor largely avoided fan-service, and a cameo from Leia - no matter how tastefully it was handled - probably would have seemed somewhat jarring.

The late Carrie Fisher returned as Leia for the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and a rather dodgy CGI-recreation of the character (with actress Ingvild Deila beneath the VFX) made a brief appearance in the final moments of Rogue One.

What did you make of the final three episodes of Andor? Let us know in the comments section.

Season 2 will see the characters and their relationships intensify as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.

Rife with political intrigue, danger, tension, and high stakes, the series is a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which portrayed a heroic band of rebels who steal the plans to the Empire’s weapon of mass destruction: The Death Star, setting the stage for the events of the original 1977 film.

Andor sets the clock back five years from the events of Rogue One to tell the story of the film’s hero, Cassian Andor, and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.

Says creator and executive producer Tony Gilroy, “One of the great thrills of making ‘Andor’ is the scale of the story and the number of characters we’re able to meet -- ordinary people, Imperial overlords, passionate revolutionaries. They are real people making epic decisions, all of them staring down questions with terrifying consequences. Cassian’s journey is the soul and spine of our story, but it’s the choir that makes the show. I’m so excited for audiences to see where we go in Season 2.”

The final season will unfold over 12 episodes, broken down into four chapters of three episodes each. The first chapter will premiere April 22, with subsequent chapters debuting each week.

Andor Season 2 stars Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau, Alan Tudyk, with Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker. The series was created by Tony Gilroy, who also serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna, Luke Hull and John Gilroy.

Gilroy wrote the first three episodes, with Beau Willimon writing episodes 4-6, Dan Gilroy penning episodes 7-9 and Tom Bissell putting pen to paper for episodes 10-12. The directors for the series are Ariel Kleiman (Eps. 1-6), Janus Metz (Eps. 7-9) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (Eps. 10-12).

ANDOR Showrunner Was Told Streaming Is Dead By Disney; Confirms Series Cost $650 Million Over Two Seasons
Related:

ANDOR Showrunner Was Told "Streaming Is Dead" By Disney; Confirms Series Cost $650 Million Over Two Seasons

STAR WARS: Lucasfilm Rumored To Have Big Plans For This Fan Favorite ANDOR Season 2 Character
Recommended For You:

STAR WARS: Lucasfilm Rumored To Have Big Plans For This Fan Favorite ANDOR Season 2 Character

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 5/17/2025, 9:50 AM
Disney's business model:
User Comment Image
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 5/17/2025, 9:58 AM
@Feralwookiee -

People who dislike President Donald J. Trump, can you please tell us why Disney is doing what they're doing?

If you were running Disney, and you're a communist, liberal, antifa, BLM supporter, Marxist, leftist, or something else against conservatives, would you add things to socially engineer people? Would you add things to annoy and mock and laugh at conservatives?
UncleHarm1
UncleHarm1 - 5/17/2025, 10:17 AM
@MakeAmericaGrea - Shut up
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 5/17/2025, 11:03 AM
@UncleHarm1 -

Are you incapable of intelligently explaining it?

Do you want people telling the truth to be silenced?
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 5/17/2025, 11:08 AM
@UncleHarm1 -

I know.

You're telling me to shut up because you would totally add things to annoy conservatives, and then you would laugh about it with your comrades.

Which characters would you consider raceswapping?
Patient2670
Patient2670 - 5/17/2025, 2:17 PM
@MakeAmericaGrea - Your comment here is quite ironic, considering your inability to make a point without insults or name calling. That said, I'll have a go at your original question:
Let's start with the most corporate sense - In a time when segments of the population are being marginalized, maybe Disney likely feels like there's a profit to be made by speaking to them or making them feel acknowledged.
Next, while people, not affiliated with those same marginalized groups were, in fact standing up for them, Disney likely wanted to be looked upon favorably - even if it was simply an attempt to bolster their profits.
There's also the possibility that maybe in bringing these stories and characters that we've seen or read multiple iterations of, they felt the most profitable way to justify it was to add new or different elements.
All of the above point to the same thing - Capitalism- the very antithesis of the descriptors you used - again, ironic.
It doesn't always work, but there's always the potential for profit in being progressive or inclusive of an audience. Meanwhile, there's zero potential or incentive for profit by limiting that audience
Maybe, just maybe, Disney is actually concerned with compassion, inclusion of all and believes that embodying those characters is less about skin color than the values they represent. A long shot, I know, but anything is possible. Or maybe they believe that their audience believe that. And again, that's good business. Of course, I don't currently work for Disney, so this is all speculation to a degree.
Fogs
Fogs - 5/17/2025, 3:00 PM
@Feralwookiee - yes.
UncleHarm1
UncleHarm1 - 5/17/2025, 4:41 PM
@MakeAmericaGrea - Shush
dagenspear
dagenspear - 5/19/2025, 4:46 PM
@MakeAmericaGrea - Who cares about political sides.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 5/17/2025, 9:53 AM
Why no Palpatine or Darth Vader?

The Marxist hackfrauds at Disney are clowns.

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
🚘🚘🚘🚘🚘🚘🚘
dagenspear
dagenspear - 5/19/2025, 4:48 PM
@MakeAmericaGrea - Because neither care about any of this. What, you want them to show more evil white men, and you call them the marxists.
MisterBones
MisterBones - 5/17/2025, 10:10 AM
Thank goodness this didn’t happen
Matchesz
Matchesz - 5/17/2025, 10:34 AM
Kleya reminded me a lot of A New Hope’s Leia I wonder if that was intentional, they could have been bffs on Yavin
ChrisRed
ChrisRed - 5/17/2025, 11:02 AM
A cameo from Leia would have been very fun but in the end it might have appeared a little forced.
Then again, she doesn't even get referenced and I think that was a really missed opportunity.
Say was you will about her cameo in Rogue One but I like it and it (along with Vader's appearance) helps to tie the movie to the original Star Wars film.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 5/17/2025, 11:04 AM
@ChrisRed -

The end scenes of Rogue One are illogical.

They do not fit with Star Wars (1977).
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/17/2025, 1:13 PM
While it could have been cool to have her in those scenes , I think it’s best it didn’t happen because it would have been distracting regardless of it was a similar method to her appearance in Rogue One or a recast (they already had to deal with the latter when it came to Bail and that bothered some already)

Anyway , the show was solid on its own so it’s fine if we didn’t get fan service like this honestly.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 5/19/2025, 4:50 PM
They could've gotten the Kleya actress to do it. Her and Leia could've met and they film it like the parent trap, make a joke about how much they look alike, it'd have hilarious.

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

View Recorder