There are many reasons for Star Wars fans to check out Andor, and Andy Serkis’ performance as Kino Loy is amongst the many on that list. The actor is absolutely crushing it in his latest performance within the franchise, and viewers are invested in what'll become of his character in the coming episodes. Serkis expressed he was thrilled to take the role, but did have one main concern regarding whether or not his appearance would confuse audiences.
As some are undoubtedly aware, this is the second character Andy Serkis has portrayed for Star Wars. Before he was Kino Loy, Serkis played (via mo-cap) Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy, and died rather unceremoniously thanks to Kylo Ren. Serkis confessed in an interview with CinemaBlend that he worried about taking the role at first, as he figured that speculation-friendly fans might try to connect Kino and Snoke in some way:
I was so surprised. I mean, I just didn’t want to compound any further confusion about Snoke theories by adding another character who people might think he was related to in some way. So I was sort of slightly trepidatious and the like, but once I spoke to [series creator] Tony [Gilroy] about it, and I just thought, ‘Why not?’ This is such a delicious character to play, so I took the plunge.
Reservations aside, Andy Serkis ultimately took the role as Kino Loy. Thus far, it doesn’t seem like the character has any connection to Supreme Leader Snoke, but with some of the wild things that have occurred in Star Wars lore, I can understand why some readers could be suspicious about such tetherings. Now that I've acknowledged those theories, I should add the earliest Snoke cloning experiments likely wouldn't be starting up until decades after the events of Andor, and it’s hard to imagine a random prisoner with no apparent Force sensitivity is somehow tied into that. Plus, we know from the novels that Snoke was a strandcast, so a connection to Kino Loy is highly unlikely unless the Empire used his genes specifically for it.
The upside to Kino Loy having zero Snoke connection — despite my want for Star Wars movies to work in characters from the shows — is that it allows this impressive performance to stand on its own. To see the prison leader go from this rigid rule-follower to someone willing to go along with an escape after all that he witnessed in the latest episodes was some powerful stuff, and likely will stand out as one of the major moments of Andor Season 1.
Andor last left Kino alongside Cassian, and his knowledge will undoubtedly help aid their attempted escape of Narkina 5. Even so, though, it feels the odds of them escaping with their lives are slim, especially with those electrified floors. Of course, viewers know that Cassian will escape with his life and die for the Rebel cause at a later date, but there are likely some fans hoping that Kino Loy is able to find his way off-planet as well. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are already calls for a Kino spinoff to be added to the list of Upcoming Star Wars projects, though it’s hard to imagine that actually happening.
Catch new episodes of Andor on Disney+ on Wednesdays. Season 1 is still rolling strong, and Season 2 is already locked down for anyone wondering if they should hold onto their Disney+ subscription in the meantime. That same streaming platform is also where you can watch the Star Wars movies in order.
