‘Andor’: Editor John Gilroy Talks Being ‘Rogue One’ Fixer & Building ‘Andor’ From The Ground Up [The Rogue Ones Podcast]

‘The Rogue Ones: A Star Wars Andor Podcast’ returns with hosts Mike DeAngelo and The Playlist’s Editor-In-Chief, Rodrigo Perez. As with the previous episodes, each week, our hosts will recap and review the latest “Andor” episode and welcome cast members and creatives from the show to discuss all things “Andor” and all the intrigue and machination of the “Star Wars” galaxy.

READ MORE: ‘Andor’ Review: Tony Gilroy Doubles Down On ‘Rogue One & ‘Star Wars’ For Adults In Engaging Thriller About Tyranny

In the sixth episode of The Rogue Ones, our hosts break down their thoughts on episode eight, entitled “Narkina 5,” which dropped on Disney+ this week. After the discussion, editor John Gilroy (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Nightcrawler,” “Michael Clayton”) joins the podcast to talk about being brought on as a “fixer” for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” with his brother and Andor showrunner, Tony Gilroy, and his experience editing “Andor” for Disney+.

For the uninitiated, “Andor” serves as a prequel to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which itself was set just before the events of “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” The Lucasfilm series follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) five years before meeting Jyn Erso and the gang in ‘Rogue One,’ as he finds himself thrust into the middle of a budding rebel cell with plans to put a stick in the Empire’s eye. It’s a first for the Star Wars universe, as it acts as a political spy thriller that really considers the age of oppression, life during wartime, and what it’s like to be on the ground as a member of the rebel alliance and as a member of the Imperial Army. Going even deeper, “Andor” really examines what it’s like for everyday people struggling under an oppressive regime. The show also stars Stellan Skarsgard, Genevieve O’Reilly, Adria Arjona, Kyle Soller, Fiona Shaw, and more.

During the interview, John Gilroy discussed being brought in to re-cut “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” with his brother. Many a rumor has been reported about that time, some saying the Gilroys completely re-cut the movie, others saying Director Gareth Edwards still had control. Gilroy was hesitant to go into detail on the experience but couldn’t resist suggesting major changes while doing so vaguely.

READ MORE: Tony Gilroy Says The Final 3 Episodes Of ‘Andor’ Season 2 Take Place 5 Days Before ‘Rogue One’ Starts

“We were really changing things,” Gilroy said with a laugh. “I don’t know how much I’m supposed to say about that, but it was really changing things and using all of the tricks in your bag as an editor to make scenes work. However, you need to make them work, you make them work.”

During the interview, Gilroy also discussed why bigger tentpole films like “Marvel,” “DC,” or even “Star Wars” are beginning to feel like they’re made by multiple voices more and more as time goes on.

“Unfortunately, on a lot of these bigger films, they’re now treating editors like they treat writers,” Gilroy said. “Like, someone gets hired as a writer, and they’re like, ‘That’s great, but we need a dialogue pass, so we’re going to get this other guy.’ And they do that a little bit with editors now. I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea. The best possible thing is to come in from the beginning and finish something to the end and have a singularity of vision.”

Gilroy also confirmed that he’s going right into working on season two of “Andor” during the conversation and commented on how the plan has changed from when he originally came on board.

“[‘Andor’] was supposed to be like five years,” Gilroy said. “And then they thought that through and were like, ‘Well, five years is a long time, so maybe we’re going to do two.’ That seemed like the right way to do it.”

So quickly, before we get to our podcast, some spoilers for this episode, so hopefully, you’ve seen the episode before you’re listening to this podcast and reading this post. Got it? OK.

OK, so as we discuss in the episode, there are two big surprise supporting players in this episode. One is Andy Serkis as Kino Loy. Who is that? Well, he’s not Snoke or related to Snoke, if you’re wondering, he’s essentially a senior prison foreman on the prison planet of Narkina 5. You obviously saw Serkis, he’s hard to miss.

But look closer, and you’ll see a supporting character from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” In the prison, in Serkis’ prison unit is Ruescott Melshi (Duncan Pow), later known as Sargeant Melshi. He’s a Rebel Alliance commander and led Bravo Team to rescue Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) from the labor camp on the planet Wobani at the beginning of ‘Rogue One.’ He later joined the Rogue One team and was killed during the Battle of Scarif. So yes, Gilroy is world-building and connecting his dots. Perhaps we may see more ‘Rogue One’ characters in season two, perhaps characters like General Davits Draven, and similar commanders in leadership positions.

Here’s our complete podcast breakdown of “Andor,” episode eight, plus our entire conversation with John Gilroy:

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