Andy Serkis first showed up in the “Star Wars” universe as Supreme Leader Snoke, a character seemingly being set up to be the next ‘Emperor’ of the sequel trilogy that began with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.
Of course, that all went out the window in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” with his character unexpectedly killed off. Then the other week, the actor showed up in human form as a new character named Kino Loy in the “Andor” series.
As that show is set decades earlier, it has begged the question is – there a connection between the two characters? Serkis has put that theory to bed on The Playlist’s Andor podcast, saying straight up”
“Yeah, [Kino] is definitely not related in any way, shape, or form to Snoke. Let’s just get that clear.”
In fact, he says he was reluctant to take on the new role due to the inevitable speculation about a link between Kino and Snoke:
“I lived through all of the Snoke theories [on the sequel trilogy] and just thought, ‘Oh no, this isn’t going to be good. What can of worms is this going to open up? And so I did consider, ‘Is this a good idea?’ Because it’s just going to confuse the hell out of people.
But, I was such a big fan of ‘Rogue One’ and when Tony Gilroy first talked to me about it, he was very compelling; and he didn’t have to convince me because he’s such a great storyteller, great filmmaker, and brilliant writer, and producer and showrunner.
But he really got me when he was explaining the arc of this character and obviously where he ends up in this series. So, it really spoke to me, because the Andor series, like ‘Rogue One,’ feels very grounded.”
In the series, Kino Loy is a floor manager at the Imperial factory facility on Narkina 5, and it’s unclear if Kino and Andor are allies. Those shades of grey are what really attracted Serkis, who was used to a “Star Wars” that was much more black and white:
“This is a very murky end of the swimming pool to be in with Andor. And Cassian’s journey mixing with all of this political intrigue and seeing characters really going through it. The psychological depth of every single role and the amazing cast that it’s attracted to. And so, for all of those reasons, it seemed like a good idea and I could hopefully assuage the rumor mill and not get people too confused.”
“Andor” has three more episodes to go, with the season finale set to air on Wednesday, November 23rd.
