Tony Gilroy Discusses Why Andy Serkis Didn't Return In 'Andor' Season 2

Star Wars

May 18

Now that Andor Season 2 has wrapped, Tony Gilroy has spoken about the one fan favorite that was omitted: Andy Serkis, also known as Kino Loy. Kino Loy was an integral part of the episodes on Narkina 5. He and Cassian Andor incited a riot/prison break after it was discovered that the prisoners were being sent to other facilities rather than released at the end of their sentences. Loy was left behind as he could not swim his way out.

Gilroy explains that he didn’t bring Andy Serkis back because he didn’t want to create a false contrivance to reunite Andor and Loy. Andor reluctantly leaving people he cares about behind (such as Loy and his sister) has been a key driver in his narrative arc. Cassian Andor’s “need to return and save people and to be a savior and the compulsion to do that comes from this hole in his life, and I didn’t really didn’t want to fill that in.”

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However, there must have been a plan for him to return to Star Wars at some point. Andy Serkis’ name appeared on a cast list in a Lucasfilm press release back in 2023. Andy Serkis also seemed to indicate his participation in April of the same year.

“If [Kino] jumped, that would be the end of him and he would be out of the picture. But no, he’s alive and he’s working out his next move. It’s incredibly gratifying to know that the writing [resonated]. But the fact that people are responding [and are] emotionally engaged in these characters and every single one is so well written and complex… It means something.” - Andy Serkis.

It seems as if there were changes to the script. Andy Serkis arrived in New Zealand in preparation for filming The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum in April, so presumably he would not have been available to promote Andor Season 2 if he had signed up. Although Gilroy is probably right about Kino’s fate, were the filming commitments a deciding factor?

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