Andy Serkis, Tony Gilroy confirm it: Kino Loy did not die in Andor season one

One of the many outstanding characters in Andor was Kino Loy, played by Andy Serkis. He was a prisoner of the Empire who was a day shift manager in the prison on Narkina 5, who eventually wound up leading an escape to freedom. But Kino’s own journey to freedom was cut short when he revealed that he couldn’t swim, being left behind and, presumably, for dead.

At the time, people wondered what happened to him, and it seems we now have our answer, at least part of it: he didn’t die. That speculation really picked up at Celebration recently, where Serkis was greeted with tons of praise from the fans… and where he was listed as part of the cast of Andor season two. It wasn’t clear whether that was just an honest (if unfortunate) mistake of copying it from season one, or whether it was an indication of something more.

It looks to be the latter. In an interview with ET, showrunner Tony Gilroy made it clear: “Well, he didn’t die. I don’t know what happened, but he didn’t die. We never see him die.”

And, as we’ve all come to know with the Star Wars franchise, if we don’t actually see the person die, we should just assume they aren’t. And in this case, we don’t even see what happens to him, only that he can’t swim and therefore can’t escape with the others. Did he find another means of escape? Did the Empire capture him again? Did he jump? What happened?

Those answers aren’t coming, but Andy Serkis re-iterated the one answer that we have been given, namely, that Kino is still alive: “If he jumped, that would be the end of him and he would be out of the picture. But no, he’s alive and working out his next move.” 

All of that sounds to me like we’ll be seeing Kino Loy again in season two. Which is great news, given how great of a character he is, but also something that must be done wisely and well so as not to diminish what happened in season one. With the care given to Andor’s writing and storytelling, however, I’m confident they’ll find that answer. And if that’s the case, then seeing Andy Serkis back as Kino Loy will be a real treat.