Tony Gilroy, the visionary behind the critically-acclaimed Star Wars series Andor, revealed he faced intense budget battles for the show's second season after Disney declared "streaming is dead." Speaking at the ATX Television Festival (via IndieWire), Gilroy confirmed the staggering $650 million production cost – surpassing budgets of recent Star Wars theatrical films and nearly doubling The Last Jedi's expenditure.

Despite Andor's comparatively lower viewership than Disney+ flagship The Mandalorian, and industry-wide concerns about streaming profitability following several costly Marvel disappointments, Disney ultimately greenlit the equally ambitious second season.

Creative Freedom Comes With Responsibility

"For Disney, this represents a $650 million investment," Gilroy noted, emphasizing the studio's hands-off approach to content decisions. The show broke new ground for Star Wars with mature themes including discussions of genocide and brothel settings – elements traditionally absent from the franchise.

"Across 24 episodes, I received zero creative notes," Gilroy revealed, acknowledging only one alteration requested: "We originally had 'F**k the Empire' in Season 1, which they asked us to change." This referred to Maarva's climactic speech in the finale, ultimately modified to "Fight the Empire."

Regarding Season 2's production challenges, Gilroy explained: "When Disney said 'Streaming is dead' and cited budget constraints, we negotiated fiercely. But crucially, they never censored our creative vision – that freedom demands responsibility."

Critical Acclaim Justifies The Investment

This responsibility translated into delivering premium quality worthy of the astronomical budget – an achievement most critics affirm Gilroy accomplished. IGN's spoiler-free Season 2 review praised: "Andor Season 2 elevates everything that made Season 1 exceptional, masterfully transforming prequel-era limitations into dramatic strengths. This represents Star Wars storytelling at its most compelling in years."