Andy Serkis on the future of Kino Loy on Andor : 'I mean, we don't see him die'

Andy Serkis knows Star Wars. The actor/director joined the franchise for 2015's The Force Awakens in the motion capture role of Supreme Leader Snoke. But when Snoke was sliced in half by his pupil Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi, it seemed like his time in the galaxy far, far away was over.

So Serkis was just as surprised when he was first asked to return to the Star Wars fold as fans were to eventually see him when he popped up on Andor as prison factory foreman Kino Loy. However, Serkis' three-episode Andor arc — in which he helped lead a rooftop escape only to realize the Alcatraz-like facility was surrounded by water and "I can't swim" — was a creative and emotional highpoint for the first season of the series.

Serkis and fellow Andor star Genevieve O'Reilly (who plays Mon Mothma) stopped by EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast before the SAG-AFTRA strike to talk all about what went down in season 1 of the show and what we can expect in season 2. Might that include another Kino Loy sighting? Here's a portion of our discussion with Serkis.

Rachell Smith Andy Serkis

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Andy, when you first signed on for season 1 of Andor, what were the discussions like then about Kino being part of the show after that?

ANDY SERKIS: Well, there weren't really many discussions about the afterlife of Kino. All that we do know is that he survives. I mean, we don't see him die. We see him left for a further life of the character. But prior to that, there were no discussions at all about [what] might happen afterwards. I was just excited enough about the arc that I had to play, which was a really beautifully crafted illustration of a man who has a belief system that gets broken that then has nothing to believe in, that then gets kind of reignited by someone who inspires him to find himself again, and then self-sacrifices.

So it was a really extraordinary journey to go on within a prison setting, and a very sterile prison setting — quite a heartfelt journey considering the environment that they're in. But that's the brilliance about Tony Gilroy's writing. He provides these environments for characters to thrive and survive in. And you learn about their internal journey, their psychology, their complexities and flaws in response to the world that they're in.

That's such a huge emotional moment when he gets up on the roof and then looks out and says, "I can't swim." How much did you work on how you wanted to deliver that line? Did you think about different ways to put it out there?

We did, and I did it a number of various different ways. And it was something that needed that kind of exploration. We were lucky enough to have the time to be able to do that because shooting on a TV schedule, often it's a very quick — unlike film where you can take time between takes and you can evolve in a journey. But it demanded a different set of investigations into how that would be delivered. Because it was a key moment. So I was lucky enough to get the chance to explore.

Lucasfilm Ltd. Andy Serkis as Kino Loy on 'Andor'

I know when they first approached you about the role, you had some questions like, "Is this going to be weird? I played Snoke. Are fan theories going to go around on who this guy is?" So after the episodes aired, what did you make of the reaction to Kino Loy?

I've been amazed and delighted that people have responded to the character. And again, it's sort of a combination of Tony Gilroy's excellence in authoring these characters in the way that he has. But also there's something very zeitgeist about the oppression that is happening in the story and the "One way out!" The desire for freedom is something that I think really resonates because of the world that we are living in and the oppression that we see all around us. And that's why I think he's been accepted in the way that he has been by the audiences that I've met and talked to and the people that respond to the character.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Listen to our full interview with Andy Serkis and Genevieve O'Reilly on the latest episode of the Dagobah Dispatch podcast.

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