If you love Andor on Disney+, there’s a high chance that you’re not a fan of The Mandalorian or anything else that is helmed by Jon Favreau or Dave Filoni.
With Star Wars going through a culture war of where the franchise should go, fans have been praising Tony Gilroy while lambasting Favreau and Filoni for their ‘action figure hour’ shows. Even if that is the case, Gilroy says that Andor wouldn’t exist without the groundwork laid down by the Mando showrunners.
Talking to Empire, Gilroy explains:
“The success of The Mandalorian gave us the platform to jump off… Their success is what would fuel the whole thing. I mean, no Baby Yoda, no Andor. Seriously. Don’t think that we don’t know that… Online, [people] try to drive a wedge all the time between us, and [Jon] Favreau and [Dave] Filoni… It’s horrible what people say; it’s terrible. And the truth is, we don’t have a show without them. They gave us the muscle to go.”
Though there are camps that believe that Star Wars should go either one direction, there is a third option where fans think that the universe is big enough for serious series like Andor and kid-focused action like Mandalorian and Ahsoka.
Personally, I’ve lost enthusiasm for Mando’s focus on mining nostalgia, but I think it’s necessary that material is there so everyone can get something out of Star Wars—from longtime fans to kids who are just discovering the Force.
Andor Season 2 returns to Disney+ on April 23.
