A massive changing of the Star Wars guard kicked the year off, with Kathleen Kennedy stepping down and Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan taking over as Co-Presidents of Lucasfilm. As such, they'll now be in control of what's on the way for upcoming Star Wars projects, and while I think many fans are behind the decision, one might wonder how Andor's showrunner feels about the path ahead for the sci-fi franchise.
The topic came up when Tony Gilroy spoke to THR, with the outlet noting that Kennedy's greenlight of shows like Andor and The Acolyte showed a strategy in which the franchise was unafraid to take risks and challenge what the mainstream traditionally viewed as Star Wars. It was then noted that the company's strategy seems to be that it will embrace "safer" projects, and that Andor may one day go down as an outlier amongst the rest of works for its tone and storytelling.
Gilroy made it clear it wouldn't bother him, and shared how he'd like to think he'd respond if he were in charge, saying:
But I don’t know what it would be like to make those decisions, and I don’t know if I’d be disappointed [if Andor is a creative outlier]. If I was going to do that job, I would rather go down swinging. I’d rather go down in flames. As low-risk as my life is, my creative life is pretty high-risk, so I’d like to swing away. Safety has never been one of my navigational principles. But disappointed? It doesn’t matter to me what they do. I wish them luck. I really do.
That sounds like the response of someone giving their honest view of how they'd approach things, whilst also trying to be diplomatic. Gilroy has made it clear he doesn't feel compelled to return to Star Wars anytime soon, so I believe him when he says it doesn't matter to him whether or not Andor is an outlier or not.
Tony Gilroy added that it's also really easy for him to say he'd take a lot of risks with Star Wars when he doesn't have anything to lose in doing so. The Andor showrunner noted that if he were actually put in the position where he was responsible for the financial success of the franchise as a whole, the stakes might feel different:
I’m not an investor. I don’t have the responsibility. I don’t have that portfolio on my desk. I don’t know how I would behave if it was my ass on the line and there’s X amount of money. The problem is there’s no inexpensive way to do these shows [or movies]. I’m watching the [Games of] Thrones spinoff now, the low-key, the low-fi one [A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms]. It’s very refreshing in that it’s so nice and down there.
He makes a great point, as while Game of Thrones has successfully found a way to go lower budget with A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, it's harder for a franchise like Star Wars to accomplish. Whether leaning on practical effects or CGI, a lot of work goes into bringing the galaxy to life, and with so many major projects under its belt, fans may react a sudden way if they watch The Mandalorian and Grogu trailer and it looks cheap.
The good news is that Lucasfilm has Dave Filoni running the show, and he's displayed a solid track record throughout his career as someone who not only knows Star Wars but also what people seem to like about it. Sure, maybe he won't prioritize anything as daring as Andor in the new future, but let's not forget that he managed to get a good number of adults invested in shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels that were initially made for children.
We'll see how Star Wars looks under its new leadership as the first few years pass, and continue to track all the movies and shows that come out along the way. I'm hype for The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22nd as part of the 2026 movie release schedule, and hoping we get more news on other projects before the year is up.
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