On Friday evening at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, the PaleyLive series hosted an exclusive panel where Tony Gilroy discusses Andor series at PaleyLive event, accompanied by members of the cast and creative team. The event celebrated Lucasfilm’s acclaimed live-action Star Wars series, with a lively conversation moderated by stand-up comedian and actor Patton Oswalt. Major figures present included Diego Luna (Cassian Andor), Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma), Ben Mendelsohn (Orson Krennic), Adria Arjona (Bix Caleen), producer Sanne Wohlenberg, and Gilroy himself, who received enthusiastic recognition from the crowd.
Premiere Screening and Audience Reaction
Guests were greeted with a projected scene from Andor’s highly anticipated second season premiere, setting the tone for the evening’s excitement. A representative from the Paley Center for Media began the event by introducing a screening of “Welcome to the Rebellion,” a pivotal episode featuring Mon Mothma’s impassioned address to the Imperial Senate and her dramatic departure from Coruscant. This moment evoked a powerful reaction from the audience, as Mon Mothma’s speech and Cassian Andor’s daring actions drew repeated applause, highlighting the series’ emotional resonance and dynamic storytelling.
Panel Introduction and Early Banter
Following the screening, the theater staff prepared the stage for the panel, punctuated by comic commentary from Ben Mendelsohn that kept the energy high. Patton Oswalt, expressing his affection for the show, initiated the panel with wit, stating,
“such a nerd for this show”
—Patton Oswalt, Moderator, before humorously predicting that the conversation might last until early morning. The panel was introduced with warmth, culminating in a partial standing ovation for Gilroy as he joined the group. Displaying his signature approach, Oswalt broke the ice with a playful query:
“A general question for everyone: Kirk or Picard?”
—Patton Oswalt, Moderator, lightening the atmosphere before the deeper discussion began.
Adapting Characters and Navigating Story Timelines
The conversation shifted to how cast members adapted to the evolving narrative structure and character time jumps in Season 2. Diego Luna described the process, emphasizing,
“For me it was very easy because I know the ending perfectly,”
—Diego Luna, Cassian Andor, and followed with a touch of humor:
“[The real challenge was staying] as young as possible so people will believe it’s a prequel,”
—Diego Luna, Cassian Andor, which drew laughter from the audience. Luna highlighted the value of thorough preproduction and scriptwork:
“We had time to work together. There were big chunks of preproduction, so we tackled that with a lot of clarity. Not only that, but we were working with amazing scripts.”
—Diego Luna, Cassian Andor.
Genevieve O’Reilly added further perspective, saying,
“Tony spoke about [the time jumps] like you drop the needle at a specific point. We got to drop into these beautifully rich character moments.”
—Genevieve O’Reilly, Mon Mothma.
Approaching a Known Fate: Creating Suspense and Depth
The panel discussed the unique challenge of telling a story where the ultimate outcome is already known to the audience. Gilroy reflected,
“We all know we’re gonna die, and we get up and do our laundry. In a practical sense, [that knowledge] never gets in the way.”
—Tony Gilroy, Creator/Showrunner, emphasizing that intimate daily struggles remain engaging despite an inevitable end. As head writer, he explained,
“We don’t have an agenda. We know what the big picture is, and you’re just kind of praying it works.”
—Tony Gilroy, Creator/Showrunner.
Producer Sanne Wohlenberg recounted her first interactions with Lucasfilm, noting,
“When [Lucasfilm President] Kathy Kennedy called me, Tony had no idea who I was. But we had a most extraordinary journey [together]– Tony was such an inspiring leader, and we really created a team that understood [his] DNA.”
—Sanne Wohlenberg, Producer. Gilroy acknowledged the immense scale of the production:
“We had 2500 people constantly [working] on the show. The scale of what we’re doing is just ridiculous. [Wohlenberg] keeps the noise out so that I could do my job.”
—Tony Gilroy, Creator/Showrunner.
Developing Relationships and Emotional Arcs
Adria Arjona and Diego Luna provided insight into the difficulties and growth depicted in Bix and Cassian’s on-screen relationship. Arjona remarked,
“It was honestly all on the page, and it’s beautiful that we got to explore this relationship in the second season. Captivating relationships stem from trust, and I trust [Diego]. [Bix is] going through something so tough, and she gets up every day and she tries. I love this season and this arc so much.”
—Adria Arjona, Bix Caleen.
Luna spoke of the unique foundations of Cassian’s emotional journey:
“This is a character that everything has been taken away from him. Bix is everything [to him, and] Adria represented home for me [as a fellow Spanish speaker].”
—Diego Luna, Cassian Andor. Arjona further reflected on her character’s growth:
“Once she goes to the [Force Healer], she realizes that Cassian is destined for more. Bix realizes that she’s gonna hold him back. In a heartbreaking way, she knows that she really needs him to go [on this mission], but she also believes that he’ll be back.”
—Adria Arjona, Bix Caleen. Luna commented on their understated dynamic:
“In these two seasons, there are [lots of] beautiful monologues, but in this relationship they say very little.”
—Diego Luna, Cassian Andor.
Addressing her emotional farewell in the screened episode, Arjona shared:
“That scene meant so much to me. I had several takes that were unusable because it meant so much. But we finally got there; we did it.”
—Adria Arjona, Bix Caleen.
Portraying Mon Mothma and Emotional Containment
Genevieve O’Reilly discussed the challenge of depicting Mon Mothma’s tightly controlled emotional world, stating,
“If she doesn’t hold it in, she’s useless. She’s only effective to the rebellion if she can contain it all. [But] what the writing allows for is the pain in the silences.”
—Genevieve O’Reilly, Mon Mothma. Gilroy commented on O’Reilly’s season-opening arc:
“In that scene where she’s dancing, I realized the only people who know what’s going on are you in the audience and her. I’ve become so much more aware on this show about the way the audience takes things.”
—Tony Gilroy, Creator/Showrunner. O’Reilly continued,
“You see the idealism of this woman just be crushed within her.”
—Genevieve O’Reilly, Mon Mothma.
Ben Mendelsohn injected humor, responding to a playful comparison about his villainous character Orson Krennic and Chewbacca:
“I could be the dark-side Chewbacca,”
—Ben Mendelsohn, Orson Krennic. He continued with,
“I don’t want to get all Shania Twain on you, but that don’t impress me much,”
—Ben Mendelsohn, Orson Krennic, adding levity and keeping spirits high during the conversation.
Commitment to Realism: Filming and Set Design
The topic of production design and practical sets sparked further conversation about the series‘ grounded aesthetic. Luna credited their approach, noting,
“We shot honoring the best movies we’ve ever seen. The whole goal was to make this feel very realistic. The production design team would come and explain to you [the functions of everything on set].”
—Diego Luna, Cassian Andor.
A lively banter about set quality on Coruscant, including a defense of the Narkina-5 prison’s cleanliness, led to Patton Oswalt teasing,
“You really got seduced by the Empire, didn’t you?”
—Patton Oswalt, Moderator, with Luna responding,
“I got seduced by Luke Hull,”
—Diego Luna, Cassian Andor, referencing the show’s production designer. Gilroy further explained the collaborative spirit, saying,
“We were able to inspire and allow mania in every department. People want to go crazy– [everyone working on the show was] so happy to do all this crazy [stuff]. It’s a show built by employees; there’s no wunderkinds on [Andor]. Look at the bodega [on Coruscant] and imagine how many people stayed up until 4:00 in the morning doing the graphics for that.”
—Tony Gilroy, Creator/Showrunner.
Filming Major Scenes and Emotional Impact of Setting
Genevieve O’Reilly spoke on her demanding Senate speech scene and the challenges of acting amid vast green screen environments:
“All of the sets are practical, but the Senate is a big wide cavernous greenscreen, so it was different. That speech is the fulcrum of who that woman is. It was vital to me to be able to stand in that greenscreen and feel that loneliness and that terror.”
—Genevieve O’Reilly, Mon Mothma. Wohlenberg shared the reverence felt on set during that iconic Star Wars moment, recalling how everyone present was mesmerized.
Original Direction, Pandemic Adjustments, and Cast Collaboration
Looking back at the development process, Tony Gilroy said,
“I was gonna direct the first three episodes [of the first season],”
—Tony Gilroy, Creator/Showrunner, relating how the initial writers’ room sessions were “absolutely insane.” He remarked,
“And COVID saved our show– I was praying the show would go away. I [didn’t want to die] for the show– we’ll get British directors. [laughs] Because of COVID, we learned how to make the show remotely. Let them swing every day. We ended up with a system that you would never come to normally– no writer on the set. It worked for us. I never went to set. If I went to set, it creeped everybody out; everybody starts looking over their shoulder. I was at home.”
—Tony Gilroy, Creator/Showrunner.
Diego Luna closed the evening by expressing admiration for the series’ costume designer:
“Michael Wilkinson does love the process of working with actors. There’s a discussion about every piece. If there’s pockets, there’s a reason for those pockets. The moment you’re on set, [the costume becomes] yours, but the character doesn’t just belong to you. It’s a collaboration with people like Michael. We’re all working together to build the same thing.”
—Diego Luna, Cassian Andor.
Looking Ahead for Andor and the Star Wars Universe
With Andor: A Star Wars Story now fully available to stream on Disney+, anticipation is building around the emotional journeys, behind-the-scenes innovations, and performances discussed during this PaleyLive event. As the cast and creators demonstrated, the project is the product of expansive teamwork, dynamic storytelling, and a commitment to authenticity, with eagerly awaited developments for both characters and production as the series continues.
