Tony Gilroy Ceases Producer Duties Mid-Writers Strike

Days after it was revealed Andor was continuing production on season two during the writers strike, its showrunner Tony Gilroy has stopped working on the show.

Per the Hollywood Reporter on late Tuesday night, the multihyphenate behind the Disney+ series has stopped all functions he’d normally do on the show, including casting and music-related tasks, while not actually being physically on set. Though its scripts were said to be completed prior to the strike, he was still doing the executive producer parts of his job. At the time, it was believed that his actions were brought on by Disney’s memo to all its showrunners telling them to continue working as the strike went on.

In his statement, Gilroy wrote that he “discontinued all writing and writing-related work on Andor prior to midnight, May 1. After being briefed on the Saturday showrunner meeting, I informed Chris Keyser at the WGA on Sunday morning that I would also be ceasing all non-writing producing functions.”

After the news that he’d continue working on Andor’s second season, Gilroy was subject to criticism online and among other Hollywood writers. Keyser, who stands as co-chair for the WGA’s negotiating committee, later corroborated the conversation he and Gilroy shared to THR.

20% Off

LEGO Icons Bonsai Tree

A perfect tree
This magical little tree is a lot of fun to build, has a few customizable parts, and never needs watering to keep it alive. You can water it if you want, but it’s not necessary.

Andor was one of a handful of high-profile shows whose productions chose to continue as the strike was underway. At time of writing, those other two shows—HBO Max’s House of the Dragon and Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power—are still working on their respective sophomore seasons. Speaking to the former, George R.R. Martin recently said that scripts for Dragon have been locked in prior to May 1, and having gone through “four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions,” cannot be changed at this point in time.

The second season of Andor is expected to release in August 2024. And it appears that once again, bullying works.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.