BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) 鈥� 鈥淎ndor鈥� returns for its second season on Disney+ with a three-episode premiere Tuesday and the weight of the galaxy seemingly on its shoulders.
But creator Tony Gilroy says he and his collaborators felt little pressure from Disney and Lucasfilm as they sought to tell the story of a growing revolutionary resentment against the Galactic Empire and the birth of the Rebel Alliance leading up to the events of the 2016 film he scripted,
鈥淲e took no creative notes on this show,鈥� Gilroy, whose deep screenwriting resume also includes four films in the 鈥淏ourne鈥� franchise and 2007 Oscar nominee 鈥淢ichael Clayton," which he also directed. He told The Associated Press that 鈥淚鈥檝e never had this much freedom before, even in final-cut films that I worked on. The latitude was astonishing.鈥�
The forthcoming season, whose production was delayed by , are coming with high expectations from fans who have been disappointed in other recent 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� TV offerings, with no new movies released in the franchise in six years.
Revolution through the eyes of regular people
The new episodes trace how the spark lit in Diego Luna's Cassian Andor in the 2022 first season spreads through the galaxy. And they do it with characters and arcs rarely found in this realm before.
鈥淭his second season, it鈥檚 about all the layers, and the social and political climate that needs to happen for a revolution to erupt, for a rebellion to exist,鈥� Luna told the AP. 鈥淭he universe of 鈥楽tar Wars鈥� never stopped to tell the story of these regular people that becomes crucial for the history that we know.鈥�
Gilroy drew inspiration from a broad range of historical and fictional sources.
鈥淲ho鈥檚 ever going to get another chance to do another 1,500 pages on revolution again, with this much money and this much muscle, and everything else?鈥� he said.
Epic scope, private conversations
But as epic as the story is, its most essential moments are marked by intimate, one-on-one conversations.
鈥淚 start small,鈥� Gilroy said. 鈥淚 work teaspoon by teaspoon.鈥�
That includes a season-opening scene that starts with Cassian giving a young imperial mechanic the courage to help him in a major heist. He sells her on the ecstatic feelings of destiny rebellion can bring.
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite beautiful and idealistic also, like a revolution has to be, It鈥檚 a great reminder of how romantic the idea of revolution is,鈥� Luna said.
Cast members say it can feel revolutionary working for Gilroy, who passes on the same freedom to them that Disney gives to him. They're never kept in the dark with the sort of script-rationing and secret-keeping that are the norm in major franchises.
鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 believe in withholding information as power,鈥� said , who plays Andor's partner Bix Caleen. 鈥淏efore I read episode one, I knew the end. It鈥檚 just unheard-of.鈥�
Her character's arc in particular brings real-world elements including addiction and even darker forms of trauma unlike anything 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� has shown before.
Stretching the 鈥楽tar Wars鈥� canon
Gilroy said he didn't have to fight over the galaxy's canon at all. He had to get used to certain elements when he first worked within the franchise 鈥� no paper, no hinged doors, no knives, for example. But it's not necessarily held as sacred.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen canon stretch so much," he said. "It was really tight on 鈥楻ogue.鈥� But a lot of things have changed since then.鈥�
The overall direction of the show was basically determined when work began on the series five years ago.
鈥淚 know what I鈥檓 doing with Cassian,鈥� Gilroy said. 鈥淚 know that the first year is the making of a revolutionary and the road to Damascus, that鈥檚 the first year, I know I鈥檓 leading to Rogue, I know where he鈥檚 gonna end up."
Other elements, like the route Mon Mothma (Genevieve O鈥橰eilly) takes from respectable senator to leader of the rebellion, were not predetermined. They were discovered in the writing and in the performances.
Her early-season path includes a wedding ceremony full of rituals 鈥� and dances 鈥� new to 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� that Gilroy invented out of whole cloth. He said one of the pleasures of getting to make something so large and sprawling is that he has gotten to use nearly every writing thought he has had.
鈥淎ll I did for five years was just max out my imagination," Gilroy said.
Returning from Season 1, and 鈥楻ogue One鈥�
Mothma is among the 鈥淩ogue One鈥� characters who appeared in the first season and return for the second, along with Forest Whittaker's radical rebel Saw Gerrera, who this season gives a spine-tingling call to arms that is teased in the trailer: 鈥淩evolution," he preaches to an underling, "is not for the sane!鈥�
Season 2 also sees the emergence of 鈥淩ogue One鈥� characters for the first time in the TV series, including Andor's droid sidekick K-250, played by Alan Tudyk, and Death Star builder Orson Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn.
Luna took special pleasure in the return of Tudyk and his robot who speaks with no filter.
鈥淚 had so much fun playing with him, and having him back means a lot," he said.
The three episodes dropping Tuesday gel to form what鈥檚 basically a 2 1/2 hour movie, with Cassian stuck among rival rebel factions, Bix living in a farming community amid an imperial crackdown, and Mon Mothma having to play the patrician matriarch at her daughter's wedding, before all three are pulled in new directions.
The entire series has been planned in those kinds of clusters.
鈥淲e really think of it that we made eight movies in five years,鈥� Gilroy said.
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
