Jared Bush and Stephen Schiff were among the creatives who worked on Andor before Tony Gilroy boarded the Disney+ series. While little has been revealed about what their takes looked like, we know Alan Tudyk's K-2SO was going to have a much bigger presence.
In Gilroy's version of the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel, the fan-favourite droid played a minor, albeit crucial, role in the final few episodes of season 2. Cassian's friendship with K-2SO didn't feel overly important to the Rebel's story, leaving many fans dissatisfied, despite how acclaimed the series otherwise was.
Talking to The Playlist (via SFFGazette.com), Tudyk confirmed he originally had far more to do in Andor. "I would have had a bigger role overall. When it went away and then it changed, I was disappointed, but I can’t think it would have been better than Andor," the actor acknowledged. "It feels wholly different and so good."
"It probably would have been closer to what we’re used to with the current Star Wars series, right?" Tudyk continued. "Which can be great, but it feels very different. It feels like it is wholly different, and it’s so good." He later pointed out that "too much K-2SO might change [Andor's] tone."
Gilroy had already paid a visit to a Galaxy Far, Far Away, of course, after being enlisted to help with Rogue One's reshoots. Big chunks of the movie are thought to have been changed, including the final act (the confrontation between Jyn Erso and a TIE Fighter piloted by Director Krennic from the trailers was missing, for example).
Reflecting on that experience, Tudyk said, "The script was changing while we were shooting. It was bizarre, but it's like that with many big movies, and Rogue One wasn't much different. Tony Gilroy's rewrites made it more focused — trimming scenes, tightening scenes and focusing the hero's journey of it all."
He added, "We were always going to die, so it didn't feel like a drastically different movie, but the changes gave each character their own hero moment."
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is widely considered the best modern Star Wars movie, while Andor is frequently hailed as being far better than any other TV show produced by Lucasfilm for Disney+. The common factor is Gilroy, so the studio was smart to bring him on board.
The filmmaker has, however, confirmed that he's likely done with Star Wars after Andor, and Lucasfilm looks to be moving away from streaming to focus on more big screeen Star Wars stories, starting with The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter.
Both seasons of Andor are now streaming on Disney+.