Popverse's top stories

• DC Comics sends Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman, and the entire Absolute Universe back to press for a massive March rollout
• Creel World Seattle: Stranger Things' Jamie Campbell Bower is coming to ECCC 2026!
• Members only: Ask Ming-Na Wen, Critical Role, Gail Simone, Karl Urban, Chris Claremont, Denys Cowan, and more your questions as part of ECCC x Popverse member exclusive!

Andor remains one of the best things to come out of the Star Wars franchise in the years since Disney bought the property, and a big part of that is how fiercely, unapologetically, political it is. The message of rebellion, always present in the original trilogy, is at the forefront of Andor. And, the showrunner for Andor says that he hopes the show’s message plays at least a small part in the current backlash against the Trump administration.

Tony Gilroy was the showrunner on Andor and, in a recent interview, he had some pretty harsh words about Trump and his current presidency, calling it “cosplay fascism” for its inability to craft effective stories. “We live narratively,” Gilroy explained, on why this was a weakness of Trump.

When asked about how he felt about people using Andor as a way to process the general push towards fascism in America, Gilroy added, “I do hope we have some small part to play. You know, we’re one of many pieces, one of many paddles in the water… We spent like, five years thinking about sacrifice. The whole show is based on sacrifice. You’re trying to write stories for all these different characters that are going to sacrifice. You can’t help but ask yourself the same question you’re asking the audience: ‘What would I do? What would you do?’”

Again, the anti-fascist messaging of Star Wars as a whole and of Andor specifically has never been subtle. The prequel trilogy is about the rise of fascism and the failure of institutions to stop it. The original trilogy is about how difficult it is to defeat fascism once it is in power. The sequel Star Wars trilogy is about how you can’t stop fighting fascism just because you defeated it once, because it will keep trying to come back. Andor, according to the showrunner, is all about how much we have to sacrifice to win that fight in the first place.

Andor is streaming on Disney+.

Get to know, understand, and love the Star Wars franchise more with our Star Wars watch order, guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows, and all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows ranked.