Disney is ramping up Star Wars once again, but the House of Mouse's financial circumstances mean there will now be budget constraints. The problem, of course, is that it's proven to be very difficult for Lucasfilm to keep Star Wars' costs under control.
Speaking to the Dagobah Dispatch podcast, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy recently insisted it's not possible to make Star Wars on the cheap. The latest reports from The Hollywood Reporter suggest there's a reason he made this statement, because Andor was the most expensive Star Wars Disney+ TV show to date. According to THR, it had a budget of a staggering $250 million - well in excess of the likes of The Mandalorian ($100 million for season 1, with subsequent seasons believed to be roughly equal), Obi-Wan Kenobi (estimated at $150 million for the full season), and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (reportedly $136 million, albeit with $20 million in tax credits). Why was Andor so expensive?
Andor Season 1 Was Longer Than Other Star Wars Disney+ TV Shows
It's important to note this isn't really a like-for-like comparison, of course. Andor season 1 ran for 12 episodes, in contrast to the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi (six episodes) or even The Mandalorian season 3 (eight episodes). This means The Mandalorian cost roughly $12.5 million per episode, in contrast to Andor's $20.8 million per episode. The most expensive live-action Disney+ TV show per episode was actually Obi-Wan Kenobi, which cost approximately $25 million per episode. Even factoring this in, though, Andor is clearly still unusual.
Andor's Location Work Made It Particularly Expensive
Andor is notable for taking a very different approach to production. The Mandalorian season 1 pioneered new visual effect techniques, called the Volume; the Volume has since become a Disney obsession, likely in part because it keeps costs under control. The Volume is best seen as a replacement for greenscreen, with actors performing in front of a massive, curved LED screen showing photorealistic backdrops. This means sets have minimal physical construction.
Andor, however, depended heavily on location shooting and practical sets. Although a lot of production took place in Pinewood Studios in England, shooting also took place throughout the United Kingdom - even in the Scottish Highlands. The Andor team built an entire city for Ferrix, one so large actress Adria Arjona recalled getting lost. "I the first day that I walked on set, and I was in costume already, which was a coincidence," she ed. "It just happened that was the day that they gave me the tour. I was at a costume fitting and I went over there, and I was mind blown. It was an entire outdoor city that exists. Ferrix exists. It's not in a studio. It's not parts of a set that we filmed in studio. It is very much a city. I keep saying three to five city blocks." Unsurprisingly, this is a lot more expensive than the Volume.
It's worth noting Andor was produced at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, which meant there were additional costs associated with making adaptations. Crew tested positive in July 2021, forcing complete departments to enter isolation. This context will have surely resulted in additional costs.
Andor Season 1 Was Worth The Cost
Andor may have been expensive, but it was undeniably worth the cost. The Star Wars Disney+ TV shows are coming in for increasing criticism due to their overdependence on the Volume, which lends itself to specific shot construction to maximize the potential of the screens. It doesn't help that not all directors seem comfortable with the Volume, with few focusing sufficiently on lighting - a notable problem with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Although that series was technically more expensive per episode, Obi-Wan Kenobi looked surprisingly cheap, and the final duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader came in for heavy criticism. Fight choreography was stunning, but the lighting levels were so low that many viewers struggled to figure out what was going on.
Andor season 1, then, was a breath of fresh air. The practical sets and location filming allowed for some remarkable photography, rather than the standard layouts associated with the Volume. Natural lighting evoked a strong sense of mood when shooting in the Scottish Highlands, Gilroy is likely to insist on a similar approach for Andor season 2, meaning it will be just as expensive - but it will be the better for it. Disney may want Star Wars to cut costs, but Andor season 1's success should mean it's safe.