Andor's creator has a unique gripe about Marvel movies and why they "fail": "All you're doing is just trying to get the Tesseract"

Loki with the Tesseract in Avengers: Infinity War
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Andor creator Tony Gilroy may be riding on a crest of a wave after his work in a galaxy far, far away, but he's still found time to pinpoint where he thinks the MCU has gone wrong.

Speaking to Slash Film, Gilroy compared the original idea for Andor – which has never been expanded upon – to his major gripes with the MCU. Namely, the perpetual hunt for MacGuffins.

"What the fuck is the name of the box in The Avengers? What the fuck are they going for?... The Tesseract! That's why all those Marvel movies are all – that's why they fail," Gilroy bemoaned. "You're just constantly... if that's all you're doing, then all you're doing is just trying to get the Tesseract."

In 2012's The Avengers, Loki harnesses the power of the Tesseract – a cube-shaped container for the Space Stone – to bring Earth to heel. From there, Iron Man, Captain America, and other heroes assemble to capture the alien weapon.

While we can't imagine Gilroy is an MCU completionist, several of Marvel Studios' biggest releases – from The Avengers, to Infinity War and Endgame – have revolved around Earth's Mightiest Heroes chasing down an object to help them save the day.

It's clear, too, that Gilroy is no defender of fan service for fan service's sake. Case in point: a Jyn Erso cameo in Andor would have been "lame" in his estimation.

"That would've been really disrespectful in a way. I'd rather honor [Rogue One] and keep it straight," Gilroy told Entertainment Weekly.

Next up for Marvel, meanwhile, is Avengers: Doomsday – which has just been delayed until December 2026.

For more from both the MCU and Star Wars, you'll need our guides on upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Star Wars movies.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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