By Drew Taylor

During the first season of Lucasfilm’s lavish “Star Wars” series “Andor,” creator Tony Gilroy traveled to Scotland during production. In the back of a “sweet little hotel,” he met with Diego Luna, who played the title character, a thief who becomes radicalized to the growing Rebellion and plays a key role in the downfall of the Empire’s first Death Star, as depicted in 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Gilroy and Luna, along with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, had mapped out an ambitious five-season arc that would detail Cassian Andor’s journey. But when it was time to think about Season 2, they had second thoughts.

“We just faced each other and said, ‘What the f—?’” Gilroy explained. “Physically, you couldn’t do it.” They also questioned who would pay for five seasons of an incredibly expensive, intricately designed and carefully plotted space opera, which some critics have deemed the franchise’s greatest entry since the original 1977 “Star Wars.” “It was just impossible. The amount of work that went into these two seasons is…You couldn’t do five,” Gilroy said.