The Decade's Best Star Wars Director Addresses Potential Franchise Return

EXCLUSIVE: An acclaimed Star Wars director is revealing whether he would ever return to the franchise after his work on Andor earned him an Emmy nomination.

Created by Tony Gilroy, Andor debuted in 2022 as a prequel series to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: A New Hope. Diego Luna stars as Cassian Andor, who transforms into a rebel fighting against the Galactic Empire. Across two seasons, Andor earned overwhelming praise from critics and viewers alike, and several award show nominations and wins.

Now Janus Metz, who directed three episodes of Andor season 2, is opening up about his future in the franchise. In an interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan for Unabomber, he revealed that he would "love" to direct a Star Wars movie.

If an offer came his way, "I would consider it" because it was a "real treat and a very special experience" to work on Andor.

Metz acknowledged how rare it is to work on a project that "breaks through in the culture" like Andor did, and he considers himself "very fortunate" to have directed some of the best-written episodes in the entire series.

Creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy, who first joined the Star Wars franchise as a co-writer on Rogue One, had a great collaborative working relationship with Metz, and their sensibilities "found a good meeting point."

ScreenRant: "You have directed some of the best episodes of Star Wars television ever. How do we get you back into that world? Have there been any talks?"

Janus Metz: "Well, I think you should call the heads of Lucasfilm and Disney, and ask them to give me a movie. I'd love to do that! Working on Andor was a real treat and a very special experience. And it's rare that you get to be part of something that breaks through in the culture the way that show did. And I was very fortunate to direct some of the best episodes, I think, that were written for that show, and some of the most exciting episodes. I just had a great collaboration with Tony Gilroy, who's the showrunner of it. I think my sensibility and his sensibility found a good meeting point. We were about the same thing, and I think it was just a very special experience to be part of that. If they came and offered me a film, I'm sure... I would consider it. Let me say that."

Andor is considered by many to be the best Star Wars show ever, which is reflected in its nearly perfect critic score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the highest ratings for any series in the franchise.

The highest-rated Andor episode ever on IMDb is season 2, episode 8, "Who Are You?" which Metz directed; he also oversaw the previous and subsequent episodes, "Messenger" and "Welcome to the Rebellion," which earned an 8.2 and 9.6, respectively.

"Who Are You?" earned the director an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Dramatic Series.

It wasn't just Metz's contributions that received acclaim at awards shows. Andor received 22 Emmy nominations in total and won five times. Luna was up for Best Actor in a Drama Series at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Television Awards, and the series won a Peabody twice.

The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, Star Wars: Visions and Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord are just some of the other Star Wars shows that have been released on Disney+ since the streaming platform launched in 2019.

Andor may be over, but the franchise's small-screen presence will continue via Ahsoka Season 2, which premieres on January 20, 2027, and Maul – Shadow Lord season 2 that same year.

After several years focused on Star Wars TV shows, Disney is bringing the franchise back to the big screen. The Mandalorian and Grogu was released in May. Unfortunately, it only grossed $345.6 million at the box office. Next May, Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter, led by Ryan Gosling, arrives in theaters.

While other Star Wars movies are in development, none have progressed enough to receive release dates on the theatrical calendar. No matter what the future holds for the franchise going forward, Andor's Metz, whose new film Unabomber is now on Netflix, has made it clear he would love to be a part of it.

• 

  Cassian Andor

• 

  Luthen Rael

Andor is a Star Wars prequel series set before the events of Rogue One, following Cassian Andor as he navigates a world of danger and deception. The series delves into his transformation into a pivotal figure in the struggle against the Galactic Empire.