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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story co-writer Tony Gilroy says franchise creator George Lucas absolutely loved the Star Wars anthology film.
Deadline recently interviewed Gilroy, who's now the creator and showrunner of Rogue One's Disney+ spinoff/prequel series, Andor. Gilroy revealed that shortly after Rogue One hit theaters in 2016, he received a call from the legendary Star Wars creator. "George Lucas called me after Rogue, I had a 45-minute conversation with him after he saw Rogue, and that's the only time I've ever spoken to him," Gilroy said. "He loved it. He really did. He had a lot of things to say that I... It was like a call from the president."
Unlike the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy, Lucas had no direct involvement in the story of Rogue One. The movie is darker in tone than much of the Skywalker Saga, and follows a group of rebels in the early Rebel Alliance as try to steal plans for the Empire's in-progress Death Star. The story takes place shortly before the events of A New Hope, and was the first entry in a short-lived Star Wars anthology series which ended with Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018. Rogue One starred Felicity Jones as the Rebellion's new recruit Jyn Erso, and also included Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Alan Tudyk and Ben Mendelsohn in its cast.
Rogue One's Continued Legacy
Andor, a prequel show focusing on the early life of Luna's character Cassian Andor, premiered in 2022. The series has a slower-paced, mature tone much like Rogue One, and its 12-episode first season received critical acclaim. A second season is currently in production, and Gilroy has explained that the next and final season will include multiple time-skips which lead right into the events of Rogue One. The scripts for Season 2 were completed prior to the ongoing WGA strike, which means production on the show will not be delayed, although Gilroy himself has ceased producing services in support of the WGA.
Despite Andor's second season taking place closer to Rogue One, the movie's protagonist Jyn Erso will not be appearing in the show. Jones was asked about the possibility of reprising her role during an interview, and she denied that she'll be appearing in Andor, although she hopes that Lucasfilm will bring back her character in some way. "I'm afraid to say I won't be, but I still have hope for Jyn Erso at some point to make a comeback. But no, sadly I won't be." As of now, Jones has only played the character in the film and an episode of the animated web series Star Wars Forces of Destiny.
Source: Deadline, via The Direct