Tony Gilroy Defies Disney Order, Stops All Star Wars Work


Andor creator and writer Tony Gilroy has announced that all of his writing and non-writing related producing work on Andor Season 2 has been halted.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gilroy has stated that all writing on the show stopped at midnight on May 1, while all non-writing producing work has ceased as well. He himself has also reportedly not been to the Andor Season 2 set since the strike began on May 2.

“I discontinued all writing and writing-related work on Andor prior to midnight, May 1,” Gilroy said in a statement to the outlet. “After being briefed on the Saturday showrunner meeting, I informed Chris Keyser at the WGA on Sunday morning that I would also be ceasing all non-writing producing functions.”

The statement comes after writer and WGA member Abdullah Saeed, who created Hulu’s Deli Boys, called the Andor writer a scab on Instagram, stating:

“This is scabbing. There’s no way a writer/producer can ‘finish’ writing and begin solely producing. And if the scripts are truly finished, let’s see ’em. If there’s one word different in the finished product, kick Tony Gilroy out of the WGA. One of the biggest writers in Hollywood could stand with his union and halt production on his hit show, thereby by [sic] forcing a major studio to consider WGA demands a little harder. Instead, he has chosen to be a SCAB! We all want Andor s2, but not at the cost of fairness to writers. #wgastrong”

When will Andor Season 2 take place?

Recently, Gilroy noted that the final three episodes of Andor will take place during the three days leading up to Rogue One. This will connect both the series and the movie, as well as bring a close to Cassian Andor’s story.

The Star Wars prequel series also stars franchise alums Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera, Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, and Alan Tudyk as Cassian’s droid sidekick K-2SO. Additional cast also includes Star Wars newcomers Denise Gough, Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller, and Adria Arjona.

Andor is executive produced by showrunner Gilroy, who previously directed the reshoots for Rogue One. Gilroy was originally expected to direct three episodes, but was forced to give up the position to Black Mirror’s Toby Haynes due to pandemic-related travel issues.