Andor Showrunner Tony Gilroy Explains Why Season 2 Didn’t Really Show The Story Of Yavin

Fans probably expected to see more of the founding of the original, iconic headquarters of the Rebel Alliance on Yavin 4 in Andor season 2 than what ultimately came to be, and showrunner Tony Gilroy explains why he and the other writers did this. Andor season 2’s timeline was ambitious, covering the four years leading up to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and showcasing different stages in the evolution of Rebellion and the character arcs of the people involved.

As such, after the time jump following Andor episode 6’s ending, Yavin is shown to be up and running without the pretext of when people started flocking there. In an interview with Backstory Magazine, Tony Gilroy admits that originally they wanted to touch more upon Yavin and how an organized army started to take shape there, but that they “make the most” out of their time and he “doesn’t miss” what isn’t shown. Check out his comments below:

I think there were probably more ambitions in the beginning to show a little bit more development of Yavin […] The story of Yavin is interesting and probably slightly undernourished in the story, not because we don’t know what it is, or I think each time we dropped a needle we’re showing a progression and we’re showing you how it’s moved forward. You make the most out of the little moments we have, when Wilmon shows up and all of a sudden they’re asking people to check in and go see the doctor, and you know intake officers, you see Vel. So we’re making the most out of every moment that we have, but we don’t have a lot of real estate for that, you could probably do more with that, but I don’t miss it.

Gilory was also asked if he considered showing interactions between the leadership on Yavin and ousted rebel cell leader Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) “didn’t know how to have a contact with them,” which is partially due to canon concerns surrounding Yavin. Check out his further comments below:

Yavin makes me nervous, if you want to know the truth. There’s things about Yavin that make me nervous, and logic about Yavin that makes me nervous, even within Star Wars canon. So [Like what?] the security there, and how some people know about it but the ISB doesn’t know about it. And there’s some places where you don’t want to poke too aggressively cause you don’t want to really get into the undercarriage. That was a place where I didn’t really want to get into the undercarriage very much.

What This Means For Andor

Andor Implies The Story Of Yavin & Focuses On More Localized Arcs

Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in Andor Season 2 Ep 7 — Image via Disney+

Andor season 2 is fairly strategic when it comes to Yavin 4 — Gilroy is right about Star Wars canon being messy and trying to figure out all the security intricacies could have caused the whole thing to come unraveled. It implies that some people involved in the Rebellion knew about Yavin as an obscure location that the Empire would have trouble finding, with the storyline in season 2’s first few episodes. After that, we can infer that the generals and senators of the Alliance eventually figured out a system to direct people and resources out there to start building an army.

Jyn Erso standing among the rebels at their base on Yavin 4 in Rogue One

Why Rogue One’s Jyn Erso Didn’t Appear In Andor Season 2, Explained By Andor Showrunner Tony Gilroy

Tony Gilroy explains why Jyn Erso does not appear in Andor season 2 despite the important role she plays in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

This lets the show stay focused on its main characters, who are ultimately representative of bigger themes in the story and widespread experiences in this setting. Even so, it does feel like a little bit of Yavin’s story is missing. Gilroy says himself that the writers know more about how Yavin came together, suggesting there is a storyline worth hearing about there. As it is, Andor is a tightly-paced, carefully planned show that budgets its screen time meticulously, and Yavin was something that they could shorthand.

Andor Season 2 Was Always Pressed For Time

Cassian Andor flying off Yavin 4 in a TIE fighter in Andor season 2, episode 2

Still, Yavin 4 is one of the places where the fact that Andor was shortened from its original five-season plan shows. Indicating to the audience that they just need to accept that the characters know what they are doing to keep Yavin hidden was the right move, but the show could have done with just a little bit of exposition on how things got started. However, this season also proves that Andor didn’t need to go too far into Yavin’s history when the audience can be trusted to fill in some blanks about this powerful backdrop to Cassian Andor’s story.

Source: Backstory Magazine