ANDOR Writer Reveals Emperor Palpatine Could Have Appeared in Original 5-Season Plan

If Andor had stayed with its original five-season plan, fans might have eventually seen Emperor Palpatine himself step out of the shadows. According to writer Dan Gilroy, the Star Wars series would have eventually brought in the villain.

In an interview with Script Apart, Gilroy admitted he hadn’t really thought about it until asked but then revealed how naturally the story might have leaned toward the Emperor’s world.

"Really, actually, this moment is the most I've actually really thought about it. So what else would we have explored? Oh my god, where would we have gone? I mean, I can't imagine over five years we wouldn't have shown the Emperor at that point.

He continued:

"I think we would have gotten closer to that world. I think we would have gone, like, we're really getting a good sense of opposition forces here, but let's go deeper into the power at the moment, the halls of power.

“I think we would have gone deeper into the halls of power and explored that. That would have been the natural way to go, I think, the progression of it."

While both seasons dig deep into the machinery of the Empire, neither Palpatine nor Darth Vader ever show up. Showrunner Tony Gilroy has previously explained why Vader was never on the table, saying:

"No, that was never on my agenda. Writing for Darth Vader is really limiting. I've done it. He doesn't have a lot to say."

Of course, Vader made his iconic return in Rogue One, while Palpatine’s influence is felt throughout both Andor and Rogue One even if he never appears onscreen.

With the series closed out with Season 2, we’ll never know what a live-action Palpatine appearance in Andor would have looked like. Still, knowing it was a possibility makes me wonder how deep into the Imperial machine the story could have gone.