Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy had already written most of season two by the time season one became the most well-reviewed Star Wars title of the Disney era. The series about how small-time thief Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) became a Rebel hero in time for his ultimate sacrifice in 2016’s Rogue One was so well-received that one of the audience’s only quibbles actually pertained to the minimal number of alien characters. (Season two noticeably makes up for it.) But despite having the second 12-episode story planned out in detail, the road to the finish line became far more challenging than anybody ever expected.

For starters, in the months leading up to Andor’s series premiere in September 2022, Wall Street fell out of love with streaming, resulting in a major market correction that no longer valued subscriber growth projections. Consequently, Disney had to make some tough choices about Disney+ going forward.