‘We told the story we wanted to tell’: Andor lead star opens up on Disney’s decision to end the Star Wars show after two seasons on Disney+

• Andor's lead actor has opened up about the end of the Star Wars TV show after two seasons
• Diego Luna is relieved that the Rogue One prequel series wasn't cancelled
• It was originally supposed to run for five seasons

Diego Luna believes it's the right decision on Disney's part to allow Andor to end after two seasons rather than one.

Chatting to TechRadar before Andor season 2 debuts on Disney+, Luna expressed satisfaction and relief over the opportunity to tell "the story we wanted to" in the Rogue One prequel series. Indeed, Luna was glad that Disney afforded him, showrunner Tony Gilroy, and the rest of the cast and crew the chance to wrap up its narrative, rather than cancel the show after a single season.

Luna's worries about the Star Wars TV series ending before its time aren't unfounded. Despite the critical acclaim and award nominations Andor's first season was met with, it's no secret that its development was a costly endeavor.

Originally, Andor was supposed to run for five seasons, with its final installment leading directly into the events of Rogue One, However, per a report published by Forbes last December, it's estimated that the price for creating its first two seasons was an astronomical $645 million.

With Disney cutting costs across the board during Bob Iger's second stint as CEO, Andor's five-season plan was never going to materialize.

Thankfully, during development on one of the best Disney+ shows' first season, Gilroy had a "great idea", according to Luna, to condense four seasons' worth of character arcs and wider storytelling into one more season comprising 12 episodes.

It's a format that Gilroy discussed with me prior to season 1's release in August 2022, with the series' head writer calling them "very sexy" time jumps that would depict a single yet important event in each of the four years leading up to the start of Rogue One. Each 12-month period will span three episodes apiece, therefore allowing each narrative the same time and space to depict their individual stories.

"From the beginning [of this show], we knew what we wanted to do," Luna told me. "Structurally, the plan changed because we soon realized we couldn't commit to five seasons. It takes a lot of energy, time, and money to make one, because each season takes two and a half years of our lives.

"But, while we were shooting season one, Tony had this great idea of squeezing four seasons into one and essentially make four chapters.

"I also think that, today in long format storytelling and TV in general, a lot of shows start without knowing where or when they're going to end. But, from beginning to end, we told the story we wanted to tell and that's a beautiful thing to be able to do."

I'll have more exclusive content to bring you from my interviews with Diego and more of Andor's cast in the build up to, during, and after season 2's debut. In the meantime, read more of my Andor season 2 coverage below ahead of its April 22 launch in the US, and April 23 arrival in the UK and Australia.

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