Lucasfilm is currently in production on the second and final season of “Andor.” Although the first season was weak in terms of ratings when it was initially released, it received critical acclaim and, for some, is considered the best “Star Wars” effort of the Disney era so far. day.
Much of this has to do with creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy, who has crafted a two-season plan to tell a story that eschews many “Star Wars” tropes – callbacks and fantasy elements are minimized in favor of moral relativism. and a harder science. fi/political approach.
It felt like a show closer to “Battlestar Galactica” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” than “Obi-Wan Kenobi” or “The Mandalorian.”
One obvious difference to these was the budget, with “Andor” evidently benefiting from far more economic resources per episode with THR reporting this week that the twelve-episode season was estimated at $250 million (just over $20 million per episode).
Even by prestige television standards, that’s a hefty amount, and Gilroy tells the trade he sees the lit show as a minor miracle or timing because it probably never would have been given the green light sooner. or today:
“We were lucky to do this during the gold rush a few years ago. A lot of people now have cold feet, and you can’t do this show cheaply. I’m so relieved at the reaction because we were doing this huge, obscure thing, and we knew it was crazy. Like, ‘Is that too much? Have we gone too far? There were no focus groups or test audiences. Now it will be good if we can hold the landing and come out strong.
The second season consists of twelve more episodes and will double down on the nature of the first season – this time widening the gap between its multi-episode arcs.
Gilroy says that while the arcs of the first season are fairly clearly delineated in terms of genres (recruitment / robbery / prison break / revolt) and a little fuzzier in terms of time, the second will be more fuzzy in terms of genre but more rigid in its structure:
“It’s not as clearly delineated in terms of genres, but it’s more clearly delineated in that each three-episode block will be separated by a one-year gap. They are therefore truly self-contained and in many cases take place over one, two or three days.
Assuming the ongoing writers’ strike doesn’t cause any further delays, the second season of “Andor” will hopefully arrive late next year.