Andy Serkis already made an impact in the “Star Wars” galaxy as Supreme Leader Snoke in “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi.” So, a bit of a surprise for “Star Wars” fans when the actor showed up recently as Kino Loy, one of Cassian Andor’s fellow inmates in “Andor,” airing on Disney+ now. And, of course, those same fans have now started to speculate about a connection between the two characters. Snoke, Kino, same actor: so, the same person?
On the new episode of The Playlist’s “Andor” podcast, “The Rogue Ones,” Serkis shared how he was initially reluctant to take on the Kino role due to how fans would try and connect the character somehow to Snoke. “I lived through all of the Snoke theories [on the sequel trilogy] and just thought, ‘Oh no, this isn’t going to be good. What can of worms is this going to open up?” Serkis said on the podcast. But Serkis couldn’t turn down the chance to work with “Andor” showrunner and “Rogue One” director Tony Gilroy,” so he chose to look past the inevitable grist of the rumor mill and take the role.
“And so I did consider, ‘Is this a good idea?’ Because it’s just going to confuse the hell out of people,” continued Serkis. “But, I was such a big fan of “Rogue One” and when Tony Gilroy first talked to me about it, he was very compelling; and he didn’t have to convince me because he’s such a great storyteller, great filmmaker, and brilliant writer, and producer and showrunner. But he really got me when he was explaining the arc of this character and obviously where he ends up in this series. So, it really spoke to me, because the Andor series, like ‘Rogue One,’ feels very grounded.” Serkis’ character on “Andor” is Kino Loy, a floor manager at the Imperial factory facility on Narkina 5, where Andor gets sentenced to six years imprisonment. With three episodes left in Season One, it’s unclear if Kino and Andor are allies.
But that’s what Serkis loves so much about “Andor,” its moral ambiguity. “In a sense, it’s the grey area of Star Wars and that used to be much more black and white, sort of dark and light choices,” Serkin went on. “And so, this is a very murky end of the swimming pool to be in with Andor. And Cassian’s journey mixing with all of this politcal intrigue and seeing characters really going through it. The psychological depth of every single role and the amazing cast that it’s attracted. And so, for all of those reasons it seemed like a good idea and I could hopefully assuage the rumor mill and not get people too confused.”
And just to be clear, there’s no connection between Kino Loy and Supreme Commander Snoke. “Yeah, [Kino] is definitely not related in any way, shape, or form to Snoke,” Serkis said, “Let’s just get that clear.” Noted, Mr. Serkis. Tune into the final three episodes of Season One of “Andor” on Disney+ to discover Kino Loy’s fate and if Cassian somehow escapes Narkina 5.