Warning! This article contains spoilers for Andor season 2, episodes 7-9.
According to writer Dan Gilroy, the Ghorman Massacre, Cassian Andor’s first meeting with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s K-2SO, and Mon Mothma’s daring exit from the Imperial Senate.
A lot happened in these three episodes. Even so, there were additional story concepts, too. According to Andor writer Dan Gilroy, these unused ideas specifically related to Cassian's original encounter with K-2SO, which could have been a much longer and even more frightening ordeal than it was on Ghorman, and Mon Mothma’s personal journey after escaping Coruscant and risking her and her family’s safety by publicly calling out Emperor Palpatine and the Empire’s genocidal atrocities.
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K-2SO Originally Had An Entire Episode For His Introduction
K-2SO is a major part of Cassian’s story and character in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so it was only a matter of time before the wonderfully blunt and sarcastic reprogrammed droid was introduced in Andor season 2. We were given a glimpse of a KX droid’s strength in Andor season 1, when Cassian was arrested on Niamos. The way the security droids tore through the Ghorman protestors in Andor season 2 was an even more terrifying sight to behold, however.
In an in-depth interview with Backstory Magazine’s Jeff Goldsmith, Dan Gilroy explained that Cassian Andor’s first meeting with K-2SO was originally conceived as an Aliens-inspired, self-contained episode. Rather than meeting during the chaos of the Ghorman Massacre, a choice which convincingly showcased just how terrifying Imperial KX security droids are, K-2 would have boarded a Rebel transport for a routine search instead, leading to a horror-fueled altercation.
"In the writer's room, we had a different concept of introducing K-2SO. We actually thought that K-2 was so important, we were gonna introduce him almost on an episode by himself. We tried it. I actually wrote an episode where K-2 was introduced.
Cassian needed to get back to Yavin. It was getting more difficult to get into Yavin because they were tightening shipping lanes, and he had to hitch a ride on a rebel freighter. We had a whole episode that we tried where Cassian's on this freighter and some other things, and K-2 comes aboard to do a search, and it becomes this nightmarish Aliens sort of thing. It was very cool. It didn't work – it was too different from the other episodes, it was too standalone, it was wildly expensive. So Tony called up and said, 'This episode's not gonna work,' for these reasons... I think maybe I'd sensed it wasn't gonna work while we were talking about it...
Tony [Gilroy] was the one who came up with the idea it is now, with Ghorman, getting hit by the vehicle. In of the mechanics, it's a pretty big vehicle, you know? K-2s are not immortal. We always knew when it woke up, there was gonna be a moment of, 'Oh my God, is it gonna kill us all?' And that's the birth of the funny K-2. That was the birth of the weird non-sequitor odd K-2 that we all love."
Andor Season 2, Episode 7 Makes Cassian’s Final Rogue One Line Even Better
A quiet scene in Andor season 2, episode 7 makes the titular character’s final line from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story even better than before.
While the show’s initial K-2SO concept is undeniably intriguing – the horror aspect of it, especially – Tony Gilroy’s hesitation to make K-2’s introduction a full episode is understandable. One of the reasons Andor season 2 works so well is its unusual structure. By focusing on just a few key events, set over a handful of days rather than weeks, every detail has something to say, whether politically or narratively. Inserting a separate, mostly self-contained K-2 episode would have interrupted the flow and possibly forced other aspects to be omitted from the Ghorman story.
We Originally Saw Mon Mothma Say Goodbye To Her Family
While the Ghorman Massacre was a focal point of episodes 7-9, it also provided a major turning point in Senator Mon Mothma’s story. Before the Ghorman resistance was so viciously attacked, Mon’s Rebel activities were conducted under the relative security of her political identity, as she utilized her s to secure funding and allies from across the galaxy. She was always in danger of being found out, and the story never shied away from the personal consequences of her justified crusade against the Empire.
In that same interview with Backstory Magazine, Dan Gilroy revealed that, after Mon and Cassian’s thrilling escape from the Imperial Senate on Coruscant, Mon almost reckoned with what her double life had done to her family, especially her husband, Perrin, and their daughter, Leida. The proposed scene would have created an interesting throughline between Mon’s story in Andor season 2’s first three episodes, in which she was forced to witness her pre-teen daughter become trapped by an arranged marriage to keep Mon’s financial situation hidden.
"I had a scene in my first draft where, after she fled the Senate and got away, she went back to Chandrila because she wanted to tell her daughter why she'd done what she had done. I had a scene where she went back; the house where you saw the wedding? It's now empty, and the drapes are billowing, like it's all empty, and she goes upstairs to look. And Perrin is there, and she had this really heavy conversation with Perrin as to what was gonna happen, how he was gonna raise the daughter, and what the cost of this was gonna be.
And then she and Cassian sort of wended their way to the Ghost ship, there was a couple of beats there. So I had a age of time that was ed for in a different way, but the running time was too long; it didn't work. This was better, ultimately. But that was written and not put in."
While these additional scenes would have added interesting context to Mon’s inner journey, the story’s focus is, and has always been, the foundation of the Rebel Alliance. While the earlier scenes with Mon’s family in Andor season 2 provided a brutally honest picture of what it would take to keep the Rebellion alive, her narrative shifted when she publicly announced her allegiance to the Rebel Alliance.
Andor season 2 is a masterclass in pacing and selective storytelling, but it’s interesting to find out how Gilroy and the rest of the creative team crafted the show’s revolutionary story.
We already know it will tear her and Perrin’s shaky marriage apart even further. We already know that Mon has lost her relationship with her daughter. Including these additional scenes, despite their emotional value, would, as Gilroy rightfully mentioned, take up too much time. Andor season 2 is a masterclass in pacing and selective storytelling, but it’s interesting to find out how Gilroy and the rest of the creative team crafted the show’s revolutionary story.
Source: Backstory Magazine on YouTube
Andor's series finale premieres Tuesday, May 13 at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST exclusively on Disney+.
| Star Wars TV Shows | Release Date |
| Star Wars: Visions volume 3 | October 29, 2025 |
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| Ahsoka season 2 | TBD |
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