Back in April, I found myself taken aback when Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy said he thought nothing like his TV show would ever happen again. The headline sounds almost arrogant, but Gilroy was actually referring to behind-the-scenes events. In his view, Andor was the result of a unique moment in history; "no-one’s ever gonna start a show on this scale again, and shoot it practically, and have the resources and the protection to do something like this," he explained.

Andor was undeniably the best Star Wars TV show to date. According to tax returns submitted in the U.K., it had an eye-watering $645 million budget that certainly explains why it looks so gorgeous - that's more than any Star Wars movie (even The Last Jedi cost under $400 million). But that's not the only reason the show did so well - and Lucasfilm will struggle to make lightning strike twice.

Andor Took A Very Different Approach To Storytelling

"If Your Primary Goal Is To Make Fans Happy, You're Gonna Be In Trouble Real Quick"

Speaking to Backstory Magazine, Tom Bissell - part of Andor's writing team, scribe of the final three episodes of season 2 - reflected that the writing on this show is unlike anything you normally see in what he calls "IP storytelling."

"I'll just bring it to something that Tony [Gilroy] said to me when we were starting on this, on season 2. I can't say it was anything I'd ever put into words as well as he did. But it was kind of a principle that I'd maybe been subconsciously aware of, going through my time writing for Uncharted, Gears of War, Battlefield, or any of these games.

Tony said something I thought was really great. He said, 'A lot of times when you're working on IP storytelling, your impulse is to open the toybox and start playing with all the toys.' And he said, 'But you should try to resist that, and what you should do, is leave more toys in the toybox than were there when you got there.' And resisting the impulse to be a child and instead think more like a storyteller who's adding to the world rather than taking from it.'

When I think of just the collage of new ideas and materials and planets and concepts that these two seasons have injected into Star Wars, I can't think of a stronger endorsement for that approach to working on IP storytelling."

I couldn't help chuckling when I heard these words. I don't think Bissell meant the comment to be pointed, but he was offering an unwitting criticism of Lucasfilm creators Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau; both frequently use the metaphor of "getting toys out of the toybox," and their approach arguably caused great problems with The Mandalorian season 3. Bissell was unwittingly highlighting the difference between Andor and most other Star Wars shows.

Like Cassian himself, Tony Gilroy was a messenger, and this show was his message.

The core problem is that Star Wars storytelling is focused on satisfying the fans. Andor was different, though; it wasn't made because of demand (nobody was asking for Cassian Andor's backstory), and it avoided fan-service as much as possible. It was made because Tony Gilroy had a message to tell, and he chose Star Wars as his medium. Like Cassian himself, Tony Gilroy was a messenger, and this show was his missive.

Even Andor Almost Didn't Happen

Star Wars' Best TV Show Almost Wasn't Made

And yet, here's the startling thing; as good as Andor may be, it almost didn't happen. This was covered in excellent form by Darren Mooney on X (formerly Twitter), where he described the show's troubled production journey:

"Since you’re not familiar with how this worked in the specific case, here’s what happened: Disney asked Gilroy to pitch. He pitched the show that got made. Disney balked at it, it wasn’t what they wanted. They went to Schmidt. That fell apart, they had to go back to Gilroy.

I’m sure Schmidt is lovely. He’s the guest writer on the first season. But Disney had this pitch from a talented, Oscar-nominated writer that was self-evidently good. (In that we’ve seen it. It’s good.) And they rejected it, because it didn’t fit the brand.

Disney had “Andor” from day one. But they rejected it and only went back to Gilroy when the other version - one that, based on evidence of their other streaming shows, was almost certainly worse - fell apart. Despite it being the first pitch, they had to forced to make “Andor.”"

There's a reason Andor stands head and shoulders above the typical Star Wars fare, and I speak as someone who's a lifelong fan. It's because Andor is the show so good, Lucasfilm balked at it. It doesn't fit the mold; it captures the heart of Lucas' own messages so well, but it runs the risk of changing the form. Gilroy himself is hopeful that Andor will be setup for a new Star Wars, daring to step away from fan service and formulas. "The hope is that you can do anything," he observed.

This Is The Star Wars George Lucas Wanted To Make

It's Time For Star Wars To Grow Up

I don't know what George Lucas thinks of Andor. Neither does Tony Gilroy; he's only spoken to Lucas once, after Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But I strongly suspect that he'll love it, because we recently learned Lucas wanted live-action Star Wars TV to look a lot more sophisticated and mature. In the 2000s, Lucas worked on scripts for a live-action TV show, and what producer Rick McCallum described looks rather more Andor-like than Mandalorian-lite.

"These were dark. These were not...they were sexy, they were violent, they were just absolutely wonderful, wonderful...complicated, challenging...it would have blown up the whole Star Wars universe. And Disney definitely never would have offered to buy it from George."

Notice the common refrain here; that whether these were Lucas' vision or not, these were not scripts Disney would have ever been interested in. Just as the House of Mouse balked at Andor. Little wonder Lucas was disappointed with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. "There's nothing new," he famously said, walking away in frustration at the lack of evolution. And that was a decade ago.

Andor has just proved that Lucas' instincts were right. He believed it was time for Star Wars to evolve and grow, to dare to take risks, to embrace darkness and complication, challenging its viewers. He thought that in the 2000s, and it's not until 2025 that we've begun to see it realized. But will Lucasfilm build on Andor's acclaim, creating something new, fulfilling Gilroy's hopes?

Andor Has Raised The Bar For Star Wars

But Can It Ever Be Matched?

The last few years have seen a steady stream of new Star Wars TV shows, but that's about to slow down at last. Disney's focus has returned to the big screen, with Lucasfilm now concentrating on movies, and only one live-action TV show in the works - the inevitable Ahsoka season 2. The question is whether there's any opportunity for the studio to actually create something new.

Please don't misunderstand me here. I grew up with Star Wars, and I absolutely love The Mandalorian, which means I'm really looking forward to The Mandalorian & Grogu. But that's more of the same - a repeat of a winning formula, just taken to the big screen. Ahsoka season 2 continues a story that really began in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Shawn Levy's recently-announced Starfighter movie sounds promising, but it also feels like a fairly safe bet rather than a bold reinvention.​

There are, however, two promising signs. The first is James Mangold's "Dawn of the Jedi" movie (we don't know if that's the final title). Announced two years ago, this is being written by Mangold and Beau Willimon - one of Andor's writing room. Looking away from the big screen, Lucasfilm recently announced an Darth Maul TV show, Maul: Shadow Lord. This is the first time Star Wars has ever made a show that actually stars a villain, and it's another hint at evolution.

I don't know whether Lucasfilm will be able to follow on from the success of Andor. I'm pretty sure president Kathleen Kennedy wants to; according to Gilroy, she had his back through the show's development, and he credits her on the finished product. But I truly hope Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi project and Maul: Shadow Lord are hints of a newfound courage, a boldness the franchise desperately needs. Andor has raised the bar, now Lucasfilm need to clear it.