‘Andor' Team Breaks Down Their Favorite Series Moments, Including That Mon Mothma Speech

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2 days ago

Hundreds of Star Wars fans gathered at the Writers' Guild Theater in Los Angeles on Friday night for 'An Evening With Andor,' a PaleyLive finale celebration of one of the franchise's most beloved series.
The audience cheered wildly when cast members Diego Luna, Adria Arjona, Ben Mendelsohn, Genevieve O'Reilly and executive producers Tony Gilroy and Sanne Wohlenberg arrived for an extended Q&A moderated by comedian and Star Wars fanatic Patton Oswalt.
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However, fans hoping that creator Tony Gilroy would continue to deliver content set in a time long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, will be disappointed. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter on a red carpet before the event, the Andor creator shared that it may be some time before he returns to the Star Wars universe.
'Rogue is ten years ago, and this is six years of my life, and it's 26 hours of programming,' he noted. 'I mean, never say never, but I want to direct again. Not right now.'
Gilroy also shared his favorite scene from the series — which wrapped up its second and final season earlier this month — and the one he was most disappointed not to have included: 'Eedy coming for lunch, coming over to Dedre's apartment. I could write Eedy all day. I was so disappointed I couldn't get Eedy going to Luthen's gallery. I was like, 'Oh, my God, that's a half-hour scene.' I really wish I could have written that.'
Luna, who plays series hero Cassian Andor, shared his favorite scene, which came at a decidedly more dramatic moment in the story.
'The whole Ghorman massacre was so intense, deep and emotional,' he told THR. 'It was definitely something I'm not going to forget. There were shots where everything was happening at the same time. There were moments when there were multiple cameras and we were executing the whole thing with all the extras, stunts, the effects and fires and detonations and fights. It looked incredible.'
The sold-out audience cheered loudly throughout the screening of episode nine, which played in the theater before the Q&A. During the panel, Luna shared that the production's dedication to creating an authentic universe through practical sets and effects allowed the actors to deliver their best performances.
'If there was a drawer, there was something inside of it. There was a logic in the kitchen for cooking. Many times, the production design team would come and explain to you the logic of the set,' he explained. 'The job of the actor becomes possible. It's not about you and the words, it's about you living in the moment.'
Gilroy added, 'The greatest thing that we did was we were able to inspire and allow mania in every department. People want to go crazy. They want to do their work. If you give them enough time and just enough money and say, 'Ok, yeah. Go further than you've ever wanted to go before.' We let people go nuts and people want to go crazy and every department people were so happy to do all this crazy shit.'
One of the series' most talked-about moments was a stirring speech condemning fascism delivered by Senator and future rebel leader Mon Mothma, played by O'Reilly. She shared with THR how she was able to deliver such a powerful performance.
'Initially, we would film it in sections, and [Gilroy] said to me, 'You want to do the whole speech, don't you?' And I said, 'Yes, I do. ' I want to feel, I want to have to stand up and give that speech many times so I could feel it as an actor,' O'Reilly said. 'I would have to carve the nuance of when she was focused, when she was distracted, when she was fearful, so that you could fill a speech with that. I think this whole piece is an examination of courage, the courage of ordinary folk. But she doesn't quite know it's courageous in the moment. It's full of self-doubt and fear. I could find her courage within the words and within her voice.'
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