Andor showrunner reveals why Darth Vader isn’t in finale

Andor has now drawn to a close, and showrunner Tony Gilroy has been discussing why Darth Vader doesn’t show up in the finale.

Darth Vader looms large over Star Wars – both metaphorically and literally – and is a major reason why the franchise so captured the imagination of moviegoers worldwide. That’s because a good adventure needs a great villain, and Vader isn’t just the ultimate bad guy, but arguably the greatest antagonist in all of cinema.

The character’s brief cameo at the end of Rogue One had audiences clapping and cheering, so when a prequel series revolving around Rogue One character Andor was announced, fans started speculating over whether Vader might appear.

However, although the construction of his Death Star is the driving force behind the events of Andor Season 1 and Season 2, Darth Vader doesn’t appear onscreen during the climax.

Andor “didn’t need” Darth Vader

Andor Season 2 ends as Rogue One is beginning, with Cassian about to join up with Jyn Erso’s rag-tag band of rebels to steal the Death Star plans. Meaning there was no place for Darth Vader in this particular part of the story.

Deadline asked Tony Gilroy why Vader and his equally evil colleague Grand Moff Tarkin don’t show up at any point in the climax, and the showrunner bluntly responded with: “If I’d needed them, I would’ve brought them in.”

And there’s little reason to doubt Gilroy could have used Vader if he’d wanted, as in a different interview, he maintained that Disney gave him “total freedom.”

“What they did is such a huge gamble, and it’s such a credit to them,” Gilroy told Variety. “They really were Medicis on this. They watched what we did. We had economic reasons for changing things, and certainly conversations on a weekly basis about that as the shrinking pie came around. But no one ever said, ‘Man, don’t do this,’ or ‘Do that,’ or ‘Hey wait, what are you doing?’ Never. It’ll never happen again for me, I don’t think.”

So without Darth Vader cameoing at the end, Andor instead ends on a brief moment of hope, that we know will ultimately result in the Rebellion’s victory.