Tony Gilroy is no longer working on Andor during the writer’s strike

With the WGA Writer’s Strike ongoing, and with no end in sight, the fate of a number of different projects in the movie and TV industry are up in the air. It was recently reported that Andor is continuing production despite the strike, since the scripts are written (which is quite a bold risk for a series praised for its writing), and that showrunner Tony Gilroy was engaging in some non-writing responsibilities.

That is no longer the case.

After pushback from other members of the WGA, of which Gilroy is a member, Gilroy told The Hollywood Reporter that he has ceased all involvement on the show for the time being. Thoguh Gilroy was not on set since the strike and was not performing any writing duties, it was reported that he was continuing with non-writing producing elements, such as casting and the score. But he is no longer involved even there, despite an internal memo from Disney stipulating that showrunners stay involved in non-writing ways.

A lot of the pushback came from those who argued that it would be very difficult – if not nearly impossible – for producers to be able to truly separate the writing elements of the job from the non-writing elements of the job. The fact that Gilroy was continuing to work on such a high-profile show was viewed negatively by many other writers in the industry.

Where all of this leaves Andor at the moment is uncertain. There’s no indication that production is ceasing, but there is reason to be increasingly concerned about the show continuing production without Gilroy or other writers. It’s not simply that a showrunner like this is so crucial (though that’s true), but also that this is a series praised for its writing. It’s received immense praise and been widely recognized as being among the best Star Wars projects in a long time, and I’d hate to see that ruined because Disney wouldn’t take time to slow it down during a strike – or because Disney wouldn’t pay the writers enough. I’d love to see the second and final season of Andor as much as anybody else, but if it must be delayed a bit in order to make the final product better, I’m in favor of it.