Andy Serkis Was Worried Fans Would Connect Snoke and His 'Andor' Character

After making his surprise appearance during the Narkina 5 arc in Tony Gilroy’s critically-acclaimed Andor, fans were shocked to see Andy Serkis playing yet another part in the galaxy far, far away. Although his character ended up being a highlight of the series, the actor initially had doubts about the role, thinking it would be a “nightmare.”

Season 1 of Andor first landed on Disney+ in August 2022 to rave reviews from critics and fans. Acting as a prequel series to 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the show became an unexpected hit for the streaming service, earning several nominations at the Golden Globes and BAFTA TV Awards.

Diego Luna reprised his role as the eponymous Rebel spy, along with Stellan Skarsgård, who plays Luthen Rael, Genevieve O’Reilly as Senator Mon Mothma, and Kyle Soller, who plays Syril Karn, among others.

One of the bigger surprises of the season was the introduction of Kino Loy, a prisoner incarcerated on Narkina 5, an Imperial labor camp. The character is played by none other than legendary actor and Star Wars veteran Andy Serkis, who made his franchise debut in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Supreme Leader Snoke.

Serkis provided motion capture for the character and lent his vocal talents to the film. A Force-sensitive artificial being created by Darth Sidious, Snoke was one of the most formidable opponents to the Resistance. Snoke was ultimately bisected by a lightsaber and killed in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), but in a sense, a part of him lives on through his actor.

After the Narkina 5 arc, Kino Loy became perhaps the most quoted character in Andor, thanks to his “one way out” chant. Although Cassian could not rescue him during the prison escape scene in Episode 10, it’s been confirmed that Kino Loy survived and will return for Season 2.

But deciding to return to the galaxy far, far away wasn’t always an obvious choice for Serkis, despite him being a massive fan of Rogue One. Speaking with Collider earlier this month, the actor explained his initial concern about the connections fans might attempt to make between his Star Wars characters.

Serkis addressed the many Snoke theories that followed his appearance in the Sequel Trilogy, which he had to “duck and dive and avoid,” explaining that he thought his recasting in Andor would be a “nightmare:”

Actually, when I was approached, I was quite trepidacious because I was thinking, there were so many Snoke theories over the years that I’d had to duck and dive and avoid, and then I just thought, ‘Oh no, this is gonna be a nightmare because people are gonna think Kino Loy is somehow associated with Snoke, and I’m gonna have to talk around the houses.’

However, Gilroy’s brilliantly-written characters and attention to detail eventually won him over. Serkis signed on to play Kino Loy, and the rest is history.

Serkis went on to praise the Andor scripts, especially when it came to Gilroy’s initial pitch for the Nakaria 5 arc:

The way Tony explained the arc that I was going to be involved in, you know, I just instantly had an enormous respect for [him]. I mean, I’ve always respected him as a writer-director, but just his integrity in terms of being authentic and knowing what he wants to say, and to use this platform, and to use this world and universe to say such important things about the human condition. To me, it really just took me in, and it’s exactly the sort of filmmaking or storytelling that I like to be involved in.

It would be a stretch to connect Kino Loy with Snoke, considering the characters appear at very different points on the Star Wars timeline. However, as we saw with Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) in the Sequel Trilogy, people can always be resurrected in this corner of the universe. 

As for Season 2 of Andor, there’s been plenty of movement behind-the-scenes as of late, with principal photography currently taking place in Spain and England. However, with the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, progress seems to have slowed down, with Gilroy even stepping down from producing duties in solidarity.

Hopefully, fans can look forward to seeing Kino Loy back in action soon, as the show is still slated to release in August 2024. Fingers crossed that this season, Kino Loy will remember his life vest.

What do you think of Andy Serkis initially being skeptical about his Andor role? Are you excited for Season 2? Let us know in the comments below.