Just hours after announcing its Peabody Award for Excellence in Quality, the Endor series is left without one of its key figures. Tony Gilroy is leaving production of the popular Star Wars saga series for Disney+ effective immediately, Gilroy himself has reported.
The resignations take place within the framework of the current writers’ strike in the United States, which is affecting the shooting schedules of all series and movies currently in production. Strong pressure from the American Writers Union may have influenced Gilroy’s decision, who was currently finishing filming the second season of Endor for Lucasfilm.
Gilroy’s departure from the series began with an exclusive to The Hollywood Reporter, in which Gilroy confirmed to the outlet that he would no longer be doing “non-writing work for Endor”, a series he created and is responsible for the film. Work with the character in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In the statement, Gilroy responded to criticism he received from a representative of the Writers Union for carrying out such work during the strike, which the organization holds to be against the interests of studios and platforms.
Gilroy in trouble
Gilroy’s work for Endor places him in a difficult position under these circumstances, as he juggles directing, producing and screenwriting duties as series lead. This unclear employment status has prompted the Writers’ Union to ask professionals in similar contractual positions to stop working on any creative aspect of the series, ignoring the demands of studios and production companies.
In this context, Gilroy’s personal position earned him the aforementioned criticism from other union members, who strongly pointed to Gilroy’s position for attending Endor during the strike. Gilroy has defended himself against these allegations, assuring that he had respected the strike and leaving the first screenwriter behind, announcing his aforementioned decision to relinquish his role as producer: “I Closed all his work as a screenwriter or concerned with it in ‘Endor’ before midnight on May 1st.
Despite this decision being taken, one of the union members, Abdullah Saeed, (Daily Boys) posted a scathing message against Gilroy on his social network, calling him a scab and leaving the union after announcing he would go ahead with Endor. asked for eviction. Production of its second season proceeded despite the strike.
So, ultimately, Gilroy has decided to stop work on ‘Endor’ entirely, in defiance of Disney’s guidelines, which could take legal action against him for breach of contract. With Gilroy gone, we’ll have to wait for the consequences of his decision and how it will affect the Diego Luna-starrer series if Disney and Lucasfilm decide to halt its production. At the moment, it remains to be determined whether their decision will result in a temporary strike while the protests organized by the Zionistas Union will be final or if the decision will result in a firm and definite departure from Andor.
The writers’ strike also currently affects several series, such as the final season of Stranger Things, and we’ll have to wait and see how it affects other long-awaited projects, such as the next Star Wars film, The script of which Lucasfilm is expected to be finished in a few weeks.
