Star Wars: Andorwas an unexpected hit on Disney Plus for several reasons. Aside from the excellent writing, direction, and performances, many fans forgot they were watching aStar Warsseries due to how different it was from past shows and movies. It turns out they weren’t the only ones.
Andorshowrunner Tony Gilroy was told to avoid fanserviceand Easter eggs, and apparently, that sentiment was shared among the rest of the team behind the show. Benjamin Caron, who directed 3 episodes (including the acclaimed season 1 finale “Rix Road”), seems to be among the people affected by this. As one of the highest-rated episodes in theStar Warsseries, it’s clear that Caron had something special going on when he helped create it. Ironically, part of that special thing may be a particular disconnect from the franchise.
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In a recent interview withColliderto promote his new filmSharper, Caron spoke about what setAndorapart from otherStar Warsprojects. His candid view on the matter offered an interesting and ironic perspective. “I genuinely forgot that it wasStar Wars, you know?” he explained. “There were no lightsabers, there’s no Darth Vader, there was none the Force. It was just really well-drawn-out narratives and great characters that I just wanted to spend time with. That’s as a director, or me personally, that’s what I respond to and I guess that’s where it all started. Then when we were filming, I just approached it like anything else I do, you know?”
Many havecalledAndorthe perfect rebellion story, and it’s fascinating to think that it had to distance itself from the rest of the franchise to a degree to achieve that. In a series that started with a movie focused on a rebellion, it’s ironic that it required a certain level of separation like that to achieve what some might call its destiny. It probably helped that Caron didn’t have much of a connection toStar Warsin the first place.
“I’m not the biggestStar Warsfan,” he continued. “I mean from a kid I was, but I maybe fell out of love with it, or I hadn’t followed it in my later years. And I declared that to Tony [Gilroy] really early on.” He probably hadmore questions aboutAndorthan the fans did. But Gilroy had no problems with that. It seems like he preferred it. Having fewer callbacks was already in the cards, so Caron was a perfect fit.
“And he was like, ‘No that’s great, we don’t want fan service. I’m aware of your work and I like your work and I want that work inAndor,'” Caron went on. “So that’s how it came about. I responded to his writing, I hadn’t read anything like that for a long time. It was a spy thriller. It was a thriller. Yes, it was in theStar Warsuniverse, but it was a spy thriller. So I [leaned] into that tone and mood.“Some ofAndor’s greatest momentscan seemingly be chalked up to simply not caring that it was aStar Warsproject. Bold but effective.
