Tony Gilroy, the celebrated creator of the critically lauded Star Wars: Andor Disney+ series, has offered his perspective on several other corners of the galaxy, including high praise for one of the franchise’s most recent and least-viewed entries. In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, Gilroy shared his thoughts on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the Amblin-esque adventure series that debuted to record-low viewership for a live-action Star Wars show. The showrunner’s comments extend beyond the new series, touching upon his own surprising distance from his work on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and offering a brief but intriguing reaction to the creative direction of Dawn of the Jedi, an upcoming film set in the franchise’s distant past.
“I watched some of Skeleton Crew, which I thought was really, really cool,” Gilroy said. “I like how committed it is to its tone, and it seems really well done.” This compliment stands in sharp contrast to the show’s performance numbers. According to Nielsen streaming data, the two-episode premiere of Skeleton Crew garnered less than 382 million minutes watched, making it the lowest debut for any live-action Star Wars series and the first to not break into the Disney+ Top 10 originals list upon its release. While critics and some fans praised the show’s unique feel, Skeleton Crew failed to capture the broad audience of other franchise entries.
“I’ll probably watch Rogue One this weekend, tiptoe through it and just see how it feels,” Gilroy also said, confessing he was yet to revisit the movie that began his Star Wars journey. “I’ve been very leery of doing that. I don’t know why, everybody else has done it.” His hesitance is ironic given the massive surge in popularity the 2016 film experienced thanks to Andor‘s success. In the week of Andor‘s season two finale, viewership for the show peaked at 931 million minutes, making it the number one streaming show across all platforms. This wave of interest directly translated to the film Gilroy co-wrote, with Rogue One vaulting to the top of the Disney+ movie charts as viewers rushed to continue Cassian’s story.
Tony Gilroy Comments on Dawn of the Jedi
Shifting his focus to the future of the franchise, Gilroy commented on the ambitious premise of James Mangold’s upcoming film, which will see Andor writer Beau Willimon serving as co-writer. “They’re going way back,” he said. “That’s kind of interesting, because it’s free.” The project in question is Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, a film set to explore the very origins of the Jedi Order, taking place approximately 25,000 years before any other film in the saga. Gilroy’s observation that the setting is “free” cuts to the very heart of the project’s creative appeal. It exists in a narrative space completely disconnected from the dense lore of the Skywalker Saga and its surrounding conflicts, offering a level of storytelling liberty that has become increasingly rare in the franchise.
Willimon was responsible for some of Andor‘s most celebrated storylines, including the Narkina 5 prison arc, suggesting that Dawn of the Jedi aims to be a character-driven epic. The project represents a potential shift for Lucasfilm, a chance to build a new mythology from the ground up, echoing the kind of bold, original world-building that turned Andor into a success.
Star Wars: Andor, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story are currently available on Disney+. There’s still no release window for Dawn of the Jedi.
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