Andor's Tony Gilroy 'Flat Out Ignored' Rogue One Feedback - But Didn't Dismiss It

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" endures as one of the most widely-acclaimed "Star Wars" projects of the modern era. Unsurprisingly, the Disney+ prequel series it spawned, "Andor," also became a near-unanimous hit among franchise fans. Tony Gilroy played a big hand in the creation of both endeavors, though despite how loud "Star Wars" fans can be, he's admitted that he actually managed to ignore the response to "Rogue One." He shared as much during a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, clarifying that he wasn't dismissive of the feedback by any means.

"It would be criminal if I didn't have great affection for the environment that I'm playing in for five years. It would be a crime against nature to take five years of your creative life and not really believe in the thing you're doing," Gilroy told the publication of his experience in the "Star Wars" universe. He also recalled visiting with fans of the saga during the Star Wars Celebration 2023 event and referred to their near-limitless passion as a form of investment. In his eyes, fans are the reason the minds at Disney and Lucasfilm were willing to take an economic gamble on "Andor."

At the same time, Gilroy has also explained that working on a "Star Wars" production with fans of the franchise comes with its own unique set of challenges.

"Star Wars" is one of those franchises that's so deeply ingrained in pop culture that even if you're not a fan, you have some awareness of it. It's inescapable, and it has reached a point where the name alone carries an impressive amount of gravitas — something Tony Gilroy learned as he got started on "Andor." During another chat with The Hollywood Reporter, he shared that as soon as they walked in the front door to get to work on the series, much of the "Andor" team was in awe at the fact that they were assembling a "Star Wars" production. 

"It's a testament to the potent power of 'Star Wars.' It really gets into people's heads, but to change the lane and do it this way, it takes a little effort," he said, mentioning that in order to get everyone in the right frame of mind, he had to prompt them to look past their deep-rooted love of "Star Wars." Gilroy took note that a similar thing happens to actors, too, from the moment they put on their "Star Wars" costumes. It's as if they completely change and no longer, as Gilroy worded it, do their "thing."

"Star Wars" fans and fandom can be tricky to navigate around while working on a new franchise entry, but at the same time, the galaxy far, far away would be nothing without them.