ZOOTOPIA Director Jared Bush Reveals He Wrote The Original ANDOR Pilot and Calls The Final Series “Phenomenal”

The creative paths behind some of the biggest projects can be way more unexpected than fans realize. In this case, Lucasfilm’s Andor started with a very different voice guiding it.

Jared Bush, the director of Zootopia and head of Disney Animation, has revealed that he actually wrote the original pilot for Andor before stepping away to focus on another animated project that would end up becoming a massive hit.

Bush shared the story while appearing on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast, confirming the long-rumored detail when Belloni brought it up.

“That is true,” Bush said when it was mentioned that he wrote the first Andor pilot. When Belloni joked that Bush was “fired,” Bush quickly clarified the situation, explaining, “Well, actually, I was never fired… No. That was when Encanto was coming up and I had to make a choice.”

That choice took Bush out of the Star Wars galaxy and into the world of Encanto, which became one of Disney’s biggest animated successes. Meanwhile, Andor eventually landed in the hands of Tony Gilroy, who reshaped the series into what many now consider the most critically acclaimed live-action Star Wars project ever, especially after Season 2.

Bush has since caught up with the finished series and clearly has nothing but respect for where it landed. After Belloni joked that Andor turned out “okay,” Bush explained how recently he watched it with his family.

“I literally just had a conversation with Kathy [Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy] last week, where I sat down with my kids. They wanted to binge both seasons 1 and season 2, and it's phenomenal.

“It's not what I would have done with that,” he continued. “And I think that's a really important piece of what we do in this industry, which is you do want a storyteller's point of view and perspective.

“And, obviously, Tony's work on so many films, but especially Rogue One, which I thought was tremendous, that's why I was excited about Andor in the first place, because of that work.

“So, you know, I think so often I think that the narrative is sort of these battles between folks. We're all creative people that are just trying to make something that matters.”

It’s interesting to hear how these massive franchises actually work. Different creators, different perspectives, and sometimes stepping aside is exactly what lets a project become something special. Bush may not have stayed on Andor, but he clearly appreciates what Gilroy delivered.

Looking ahead, Star Wars fans won’t be waiting long for the next chapter. The Mandalorian and Grogu is set to hit theaters on May 22. On the animation side, Bush is already riding another huge wave, with Zootopia 2 having crossed $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office, proving that sometimes the hard choice really does pay off.