After a two-year wait, some of it delayed thanks to the writer’s and actor’s strikes of 2023, Disney+’s much-anticipated and Emmy-nominated thriller “Star Wars” series, “Andor,” returns for its second and final season on April 22. Created by Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) and starring Diego Luna as the Rebel leader Cassian Andor, “Andor” picks up a year after the events of season one, covers another four years and then walks right up on the tarmac of the events of “Rogue One,” where Cassian and his squadron try and find the plans to the Death Star.
Who shows up in season two? Well, Alan Tudyk returns to voice the reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2SO, and Ben Mendelsohn turns up as Orson Krennic, the Director of the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research. But could we see other characters like Mads Mikkelsen’s Galen Erso or Riz Ahmed’s Bodhi Rook?
Potentially, but they won’t add characters that aren’t organic to the story. “There’ll be other people and a lot of great guest stars,” Gilroy said in an exclusive interview with The Playlist last week. “The show is as hugely populated, if not more so than it was before. And, my God. I mean, there are another 400 speaking parts this season. It’s crazy, but never gratuitously and never— to me, “fan service” is a bad term.”
“Our fan service is to be serious and not cynical and not f*ck with it and never mess around or wink at you or say, ‘Hey, look over here,’” he continued. “Our fan service is to mean; we’re taking this shit seriously.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
The second season of “Andor” takes place as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested, and as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound. Rife with political intrigue and danger, the series is a prequel to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which portrays a heroic band of rebels who steal the plans for the Empire’s weapon of mass destruction—The Death Star—setting the stage for the events of the original 1977 film. “Andor” sets the clock back five years from the events of “Rogue One” to tell the story of the film’s hero, Cassian Andor, and his transformation from a disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.
The final season will unfold over 12 episodes broken down into four chapters of three episodes each. The first chapter of season 2 will premiere on April 22, with subsequent chapters debuting each week, exclusively on Disney+.
“Andor” Season 2 stars Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Alan Tudyk, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau, with Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker. The series was created by Tony Gilroy, who also serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna, Luke Hull and John Gilroy. Tony Gilroy wrote the first three episodes, with Beau Willimon writing episodes 4-6, Dan Gilroy penning episodes 7-9, and Tom Bissell putting pen to paper for episodes 10-12. The directors for the series are Ariel Kleiman (Eps. 1-6), Janus Metz (Eps. 7-9) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (Eps. 10-12).
“Andor” begins its three-episode premiere on April 22. Watch the new trailer below.
