Several Rogue One stars turned down the chance to make a brief appearance in Andor, according to the show's creator. In a recent interview, Tony Gilroy revealed that certain actors from the 2016 Star Wars story declined cameo roles in the Disney+ prequel series because they were frustrated about not being offered more substantial parts.
During an interview with Vulture, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy was asked about aligning the Star Wars canon between the latest season and Rogue One, when Diego Luna's Cassian was originally introduced. The writer mentioned that earlier scripts of Andor Season 2 included "not important" people on Yavin 4 who appeared in Rogue One. The supposed reasoning was that those asked "didn't want to come back because they were unhappy they didn’t have more of a part or were unavailable:"
"There are people — not important people, but you know, faces and presences in Yavin 4 from 'Rogue' — who either didn’t want to come back because they were unhappy they didn’t have more of a part or were unavailable. We brought everybody back we could."
On the flip side, Andor Season 2 featured a handful of returning characters from Rogue One, including Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera, the Tognath brothers Benthic and Edrio, and even Moroff in a minor background role. One of the most notable appearances came from Bail Organa, who was recast with Benjamin Bratt instead of original actor Jimmy Smits. Gilroy previously explained that bringing back legacy characters was "really tricky," citing similar issues like high costs and scheduling conflicts.
Gilroy admitted that staying true to Star Wars canon is a complicated task: "I have, like, four levels of canon I have to pay attention to, and 19 I can ignore at my will:"
"To be clear, I personally prefer it when canon is a nice thing that everyone ignores whenever they feel like it, but this is Star Wars. I have, like, four levels of canon I have to pay attention to, and 19 I can ignore at my will. I’m exaggerating slightly but not too much."
He teased the idea of using characters like Saw Gerrera or Orson Krennic more in Andor, but at the end of the day, he had to get the audience "to the first scene of Rogue One:"
And I mean, who wouldn’t want Forest Whitaker, right? And Ben Mendelsohn, my God. But I have my practical story things I have to deliver. I have to get you to the first scene of 'Rogue One.'"
Gilroy even mentioned that actor Ben Mendelsohn was at one point going to be hard to get, causing him to "invent a surrogate character and invest a lot of real estate in them," which he didn't want to do as the well-known Krennic character got him to the same space in the story:
"At one point, when it was difficult to get Ben for whatever reasons, I was going to have to invent a surrogate character and invest a lot of real estate in them. That was a pain in the ass. Ben gets me there right away."
Gilroy also revealed that he briefly considered bringing back Daniel Mays as Tivik to help bridge Andor to the opening of Rogue One. While Mays wasn't ultimately in the series, Cassian's setup with Tivik was straightforward in the closing moments of Season 2.
For a moment, it seemed like a necessary step, until the story found its own way forward: "Once we had Lonni Jung steal the files about the Death Star, and once we started on the dialogue, it just snapped into place in a way that I didn’t need him."
"I thought for sure that I would have to bring back Danny Mays, who plays Tivik in 'Rogue One,' the guy Cassian kills in the opening scene. I even went as far as to ask [casting director] Nina Gold. I said, 'Maybe we should run down what Danny Mays looks like right now. Are we gonna have to de-age him? Is he available?' Providentially, once we had Lonni Jung steal the files about the Death Star, and once we started on the dialogue, it just snapped into place in a way that I didn’t need him."
With its second season fully streaming on Disney+, Andor has officially completed its arc, seamlessly connecting the back story of Cassian into the events of Rogue One and, ultimately, Star Wars: A New Hope. The series has been praised for its grounded, character-driven take on the galaxy far, far away, but its conclusion may mark the end of the road for several of its key contributors. It's unclear whether Gilroy or Luna will return to the franchise, with both having treated Andor as a definitive end to this arc.
The Strength of Cameos in Star Wars
Some of the most iconic Star Wars moments in recent memory have been jaw-dropping cameos: Darth Vader's terrifying hallway massacre in Rogue One, Luke Skywalker's surprise rescue in The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka Tano's live-action debut in that same series. While undeniably thrilling, these appearances are often emotional high points rather than narrative foundations.
As Ahsoka Season 2, The Mandalorian & Grogu, and Star Wars: Starfighter loom on the horizon, the franchise will need to tread carefully. Cameos should enhance a story, not prop it up. Marvel (Disney's other mega-franchise) is a better fit for a cameo-driven spectacle, as seen in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, which will feature the return of classic X-Men characters. In Star Wars, less is often more when it comes to legacy characters, and Andor proved that restraint can be far more powerful than nostalgia overload.
