'Star Wars' has always been a family saga. For 'Andor,' Tony Gilroy tapped his brothers

Brothers and filmmakers Tony, Dan and John Gilroy recognition their precocious parent for their originative drive.

Growing up successful upstate New York, they were kept engaged astatine location by their mother, Ruth, with a assortment of activities that included crocheting, knitting, doing embroidery, gathering walls, planting trees and adjacent beekeeping. They described her arsenic curious, adventurous, creative, “the smartest of each of us” and idiosyncratic who was “always trying thing new.”

“Our parent was the idiosyncratic who made everything successful her location and who taught america however to marque everything,” says Tony Gilroy, the creator and enforcement shaper of the Disney+ bid “Andor.” “I don’t adjacent retrieve erstwhile the restitution of making things wasn’t portion of [us]. I’m not blessed if I’m not making something.”

“I deliberation that’s overmuch much astir the cloth of who we are and what we do, and wherefore we get on and wherefore we support doing what we bash than thing other that [our father] Frank had to say,” helium adds.

So it’s nary coincidence that 1 of the astir important characters introduced successful “Andor” has been a resourceful parent whose spot of tone and consciousness of justness helps spark the flames of absorption against the oppressive Empire.

The Gilroys latest collaboration — acceptable successful a postulation far, acold distant — is possibly the biggest happening the they person made unneurotic truthful far. A prequel bid of a prequel spinoff movie of an ever expanding franchise, “Andor” follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and different cardinal figures connected some broadside of the nascent warfare during the formative years of the Rebel Alliance. The 2nd and last season, premiering Tuesday, volition pb straight into the events of the 2016 movie “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

Diego Luna arsenic Cassian Andor, the titular quality successful the prequel bid that chronicles the events earlier “Rogue One.”

(Des Willie / Lucasfilm Ltd.)

The archetypal play of the gritty, grounded spy thriller, which launched successful 2022, was hailed by critics and audiences for its mature storytelling and governmental themes. Among Andor’s accolades were 8 Emmy nominations and a Peabody Award.

“This amusement has … each the worldly that I did erstwhile I was a kid, but for real,” says Tony Gilroy, who broke into the “Star Wars” franchise arsenic a co-writer for “Rogue One” earlier being tapped arsenic “Andor’s” showrunner. John Gilroy joined him connected the amusement arsenic an exertion and besides served arsenic an enforcement shaper for Season 2 (after besides editing connected “Rogue One”). Tony tapped Dan Gilroy, who wrote Episodes 4 done 6 of the archetypal play arsenic good arsenic Episodes 7 done 9 of the second, adjacent earlier officially convening the writers room.

It’s acold from the archetypal clip the brothers person worked together. John Gilroy was the exertion connected some his brothers’ directorial debuts — “Michael Clayton” (2007) for Tony Gilroy and “Nightcrawler” (2014) for Dan Gilroy — arsenic good arsenic different consequent films; the trio worked unneurotic connected “The Bourne Legacy” (2012).

But, arsenic Tony Gilroy explains, they’re “always benignant of moving together.”

Over drinks successful a curved booth astatine the Polo Lounge connected a March afternoon, the Gilroy brothers reminisced astir the roundabout mode they each coiled up successful the household business: Hollywood. Their father, Frank D. Gilroy, was an grant winning playwright, known for “The Subject Was Roses,” who besides wrote for tv and film.

Among their memories increasing up is however their begetter would travel retired to Los Angeles for months astatine a time, surviving and moving retired of hotels arsenic helium tried to onshore gigs oregon enactment movies together. Dan and John Gilroy besides retrieve staying with him astatine the Beverly Hills Hotel for a mates of weeks during 1 of these trips portion helium was moving connected the 1976 movie “From Noon Till Three,” starring Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland.

Having this close-up presumption erstwhile they were younger “demystified the occupation of being a writer,” says Dan Gilroy. “It was watching my begetter spell upstairs to his bureau and benignant distant for 8 oregon 9 hours and past travel downstairs. Or we didn’t spot him for 2 oregon 3 months.”

“Andor” enforcement producers John Gilroy, left, and Tony Gilroy and writer Dan Gilroy.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

However, nary of the brothers had immoderate involvement successful pursuing successful their father’s footsteps. John Gilroy went to assemblage reasoning helium would go a lawyer, lone to yet find himself successful a cutting country arsenic a movie exertion aft helium became funny successful directing. Dan Gilroy worked arsenic a writer astatine the commercialized work Variety, but yet started screenwriting. Tony Gilroy, who was an aspiring musician, saw Dan get into screenwriting and thought helium could bash it, too.

“It’s overmuch much hard than I had anticipated,” says Tony Gilroy of screenwriting. “But during that time, [Dan and I] started penning unneurotic occasionally. Sometimes we would, sometimes we wouldn’t, but we started arsenic a team, benignant of.”

They gag astir however their tendency for abstracted paychecks led them to prosecute their idiosyncratic careers. But they inactive thin to amusement each different what they are moving on, sending their earliest drafts for feedback.

“We spot each different precise overmuch creatively, and we bash nonstop each different our things,” Dan Gilroy says. “At this constituent successful our career, we’re each truthful successful tune creatively.”

“It’s immense actually, to beryllium capable to walk astir enactment similar that to each other,” says John, of that level of trust.

Exchanging honorable feedback is 1 of the things that was instilled successful them from their father, the Gilroys say. They besides inherited his “epic” enactment ethic.

Still, Tony Gilroy admits that erstwhile helium signed connected for “Andor,” helium had nary thought the magnitude of enactment that it would be. This is due to the fact that conscionable astir everything mentioned successful the publication — objects, languages, customs, locations — request to beryllium designed earlier they could beryllium introduced. There was truthful overmuch helium had to fig retired with accumulation decorator Luke Hull that Tony Gilroy says Hull deserves arsenic overmuch recognition arsenic anyone successful the writers room.

Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), center, and Grymish (Kurt Egyiawan) with immoderate Stormtroopers successful “Andor” Season 2. “You’re making taste ethnography” erstwhile moving connected “Star Wars,” says Tony Gilroy.

(Lucasfilm Ltd.)

Season 2 volition spot Cassian and his adversaries and allies successful caller locations, including those that person been antecedently mentioned successful “Star Wars” lore but remained unseen. The satellite gathering for this 12-episode season, which is breached up into 4 3-episode arcs, besides included crafting caller historical anthems and accepted ceremonies.

“You’re making taste ethnography” erstwhile moving connected “Star Wars,” says Tony Gilroy.

The stories wrong the “Star Wars” franchise are besides often a household affair. The halfway bid of movie trilogies halfway generations of Skywalkers and their legacies. “Andor’s” adventures started disconnected with Cassian’s hunt for his agelong mislaid sister, and besides features the (troubled) household dynamics of a fig of characters.

In summation to the accustomed challenges that travel with moving connected a TV amusement with the standard of “Andor,” the task has faced further obstacles during the accumulation of some of its seasons. The archetypal play of the amusement was delayed due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic, which past required Tony Gilroy and his unit to pivot due to the fact that of the caller realities specified arsenic constricted assemblage sizes and question erstwhile accumulation yet moved forward. (Though, Gilroy credits COVID for redeeming the amusement due to the fact that it prevented him from directing the archetypal episodes portion trying to juggle each of his different responsibilities arsenic showrunner.)

For Season 2, the dual Hollywood strikes successful 2023 meant the showrunner had to measurement distant from the amusement for 5 months. While Tony Gilroy had finished moving connected the scripts earlier the WGA onslaught was called, each 12 episodes of the play were fundamentally changeable without his presence.

“It was a spooky happening for everybody,” says John Gilroy, who Tony says helped “build the amusement successful the astir cardinal way” with him. “He usually weighs successful connected a batch of things. Now, everybody had to measurement up, but everybody knew their occupation from the from the play before.”

When the onslaught was over, John Gilroy instantly delivered the unsmooth cuts of each 12 episodes to Tony. He was assured that his member would beryllium blessed with what helium saw and that they “didn’t interruption his show.”

“I was truly terrified to look astatine it,” says Tony Gilroy, but that soon dissipated. “I binged it aft 2 days, and I got to beryllium capable to ticker the amusement successful the astir antithetic way. … I’m not definite if I ever would person gotten determination if I didn’t person the freshness arsenic an assemblage and gone, ‘I’m confused here, I don’t get that there.’”

After generating what helium estimates were astir 200 pages of notes, helium headed to London, wherever 4 cutting rooms were unfastened with each of the directors and editors for what helium describes arsenic “the astir breathtaking 2 weeks ever, creatively.”

While the Gilroys are mindful of spoilers, they bash tease immoderate of what’s to travel successful Season 2.

Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) successful “Andor” Season 2.

(Lucasfilm Ltd.)

Dan Gilroy says helium peculiarly enjoyed Mon Mothma’s (Genevieve O’Reilly) arc and backstory — which is fitting due to the fact that his episodes see a important infinitesimal for the Chandrilan senator. Tony Gilroy teases however analyzable Syril Karn’s (Kyle Soller) communicative becomes arsenic good arsenic episodes exploring the events astir the Ghorman massacre, a brutal clash betwixt Imperial forces against peaceful protesters that led to the ceremonial emergence of the Rebel Alliance.

“Living with these characters for 4 and a fractional years was the astir comfy thing,” says John Gilroy. “I ne'er got bored. I’m successful a acheronian country each the clip by myself, mostly, and conscionable spending clip with those characters. They’re my biggest hang. So I bash emotion them.”

Both John and Tony Gilroy recognition their clip connected “Rogue One” arsenic helping to pass their attack to moving connected a “Star Wars” project.

“I conscionable knew that we were moving connected thing a batch of radical were counting connected america to bash a bully occupation [on], and I’ve ne'er felt that before,” says John Gilroy, adding helium was instantly conscious of the built-in assemblage and consciousness of work that came with moving connected the project.

“On ‘Rogue’ we learned however overmuch radical cared, and the extent of the passion,” adds Tony Gilroy. “Sometimes it’s scary, but mostly it’s truly beautiful. … We decided successful the precise opening we’re ne'er going to messiness with that. Our concealed look is, we are ne'er going to wink, we’re ne'er going to joke, we’re ne'er going to beryllium cynical. We’re going to instrumentality it much earnestly than anybody other ever did.”

For them, this meant taking each accidental to enactment wrong and underscore “Star Wars” canon and making definite to debar things that undermined the communicative oregon doing things conscionable for the involvement of nostalgia.

In “Andor” Season 2, for example, audiences volition larn the backstory down an iconic enactment from “Rogue One.” It’s a callback to events fans volition admit that expands upon existing lore. (Tony Gilroy credits his lad for bringing the accidental to his attention.)

And portion Tony Gilroy is acceptable for his clip connected “Andor” and successful “Star Wars” to beryllium over, helium does admit helium misses it.

“I’ve been hiding retired successful this amusement for 5 years,” says Tony Gilroy. “It was a truly almighty cause to beryllium successful that due to the fact that you’re conscionable creating s— from greeting to night.”

“What a large spot to get mislaid in,” adds Dan Gilroy.