Tony Gilroy revealed that he wishes he could retcon one Star Wars character into Rogue One after the end of Andor Season 2. Over the last decade-and-change, Gilroy has become one of the most celebrated figures in modern Star Wars. He first won fans of the long-running sci-fi franchise over with his work on the acclaimed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, telling the tale of the ill-fated Rebel team who stole the Death Star plans leading into Star Wars: A New Hope.
He then continued his Star Wars hot streak, diving back into the world of Rogue One with two seasons of the Diego Luna-led Disney+ series Andor, following Luna's Rogue One Rebel spy before he appeared in the 2016 film. Now, though, with the context of Andor under his belt, the Bourne Identity writer has shared that he would want to make one specific change to Rogue One if he had the chance to go back.
Speaking with Empire Magazine, Gilroy detailed who from Andor he would want to retcon into Rogue One if he had the context he has today.
When asked if there were any characters from his hit Disney+ series he would add to his 2016 Star Wars movie, Gilroy posited, "I'd want Vel there for sure," referencing Faye Marsay's Rebel recruit from the award-winning streaming show.
"Think of Vel's take on Jyn Erso," the Andor showrunner remarked, adding, "I'm sure she'd have some very choice things to say about her:"
"I'd want Vel there for sure. My God, think of Vel’s take on Jyn Erso! I’m sure she’d have some very choice things to say about her. Jyn would light up all of Vel’s irritation."
While Vel played a key role in both seasons of the Andor series, getting one of the most tragic (and perhaps controversial) stories in the show's run, she is nowhere to be seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Andor Season 2 wrapped up on Disney+ in mid-May, bringing Tony Gilroy's gripping espionage-based drama to a close, and possibly ending his time working within the galaxy far, far away. Marsay starred as Vel alongside Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Genevieve O'Rielly as Mon Mothma, and Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael in both seasons of the award-winning Star Wars series.
What Happened to Vel After Andor Season 2?
Faye Marsay's Vel is one of the most interesting and multi-layered new characters introduced in either season of Andor (and that is saying something considering just how good this cast is across the board). So, justifiably, there is a lot of fan demand to know what happened to her character after the events of the Disney+ series.
Vel started Andor as a boots-on-the-ground soldier for the Rebellion in its earliest form. She first crossed paths with Cassian on Aldahni, as he was recruited to join her team on an Imperial heist that would serve as the Rebel cause's first public act of defiance against the galaxy's tyrannical rulers.
From there, she evolved, with audiences learning of her regal family heritage, complicated romantic pursuits, and devotion to the Rebellion.
The series left Vel with an uncertain future. The show's final few episodes saw the character settle amongst her fellow Rebels on Yavin 4 and work within the new regime's bureaucracy.
If she remained there, during the events of Rogue One, which fans assume she did, she surely would have loved to have seen Andor and his band of Rebels (led by Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso) go against the wishes of Rebel leadership and head into battle to steal the Death Star plans on Skariff.
In fact, given her guerrilla warfare roots, there is probably a world in which Vel is on that ship along with the Rogue One crew, helping in the team's valiant suicide mission.
Instead, she remained on Yavin and likely continued to rise in the ranks of the Rebellion as the war roared to life following A New Hope.
