Speaking at the Television Critics Association’s press tour this past Wednesday, Star Wars: Andor showrunner and writer Tony Gilroy touched upon the topic of K-2SO not being present in ay of the images or clips revealed from the first season of the show, and as he explains – quite logically, given this is five years before the events of that film and Cassian isn’t yet “the person who would know how to — or be motivated to — reprogram an Imperial droid.” – we simply need to be patient.
“From a storytelling point of view, there are multiple reasons. I would say, ‘Wait and see.’ It’s a story we are eager to tell. It’s difficult to carry an Imperial droid around with you and not draw all kinds of attention. It’s a difficult piece of luggage. When we do it, we’ll do it in a spectacular fashion as opposed to presenting it and ignoring it, or presenting it or hiding it, or the bad versions we would have been forced to do.”
We already know the second and final season will also consist of 12 episodes, separated into batches of three, meaning season one is 5 years before Rogue One, season two episodes 1 – 3 four years before, episodes 4 – 6 three years before, episodes 7 – 9 two years before and the final three episodes a year and, as Gilroy himself says, “Our last scene of the show, our 24th episode, will walk the audience directly into Rogue One and directly into the first scene of Rogue One.”
Directly into Rogue One. Remember, while the film opened with Director Krennic taking his shuttle to Lah’mu, in the Rioballo sector of the Outer Rim, that was a flashback to before the events of Andor, when Jyn Erso was a little girl on Lah’mu. The chronological opening scene is on the Ring of Kafrene in the Thand sector of the Expansion Region, where Cassian Andor was deep in a mission, one that ended with the death – by Cassian’s hand – of the ill-feted and injured Alliance informant Tivik. That scene showed us straight away just what Cassian was prepared to do for the Alliance. Over 24 episodes and 2 seasons, Andor will show us how he got to that place.