Andor was one of Disney’s biggest revelations when it premiered last year. The political spy drama television series was one of the highest-streamed shows with a whopping 96% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating.
Andor’s showrunner, Tony Gilroy, and lead actor, Diego Luna, recently sat down for a chat with Empire during which Gilroy revealed that the final three episodes of the show’s second season will cover the events of the last three days before Rogue One.
Luna and Gilroy also teased that Andor Season 2 will raise the stakes higher than what fans saw in Season 1 with Luna commenting that, "The risks this season will take are very different," and Gilroy adding, "In every way. Look, man, I’m not trying to make a career here; if anything I’m on the downhill side of a long career. But this is an opportunity. This is 1,500 pages of the most dynamic material in these people’s lives to deal with. We got it right the first time, and you don’t want to let your foot off the gas."
Finally, Gilroy hinted that Andor’s second season will explore the growing Rebellion and the challenges it will be facing.
The veteran filmmaker and Academy Award nominee stated that some of the factors that gave rise to the Rebellion in the first place are "secrecy and paranoia and lack of trust and betrayal" before hinting they'll hamper the growing uprising. He then went on to imply that the show will explore the conflict that the expanding rebellion will evoke in the original members, like Luthen Rael.
In his words, "And what happens to the original gangsters, as other people get involved?"
Andor follows the titular character and his involvement in the Rebellion in the years leading up to the events of 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Much like the first season, Andor Season 2 will have 12 episodes. However, it will feature time jumps of a year every three episodes which have been added to ensure it covers the entire five-year period.
Andor Season 2 will see Diego Luna reprise his role as the titular character Cassian Andor. It will also see Adria Arjona, Forest Whittaker, Genevieve O’Reilly, Kyle Soller, Denise Gough, and Stellan Skarsgård return in their roles as Bix Caleen, Saw Gerrera, Mon Mothma, Syril Karn, Dedra Meero, and Luthen Rael respectively. They will be joined by Benjamin Bratt who was cast in an undisclosed role.
Apart from his showrunning duties, Tony Gilroy also serves as one of the writers for the new season, alongside Dan Gilroy and Beau Willimon, all of whom contributed to the first season’s screenplay. They will be joined by Tom Bissell who is best known for his work as a video game writer.
In other Star Wars news, Disney revealed earlier this month that British actor Jude Law will star as a Jedi in the series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. While the project wrapped up filming in January, Disney is yet to announce a release date. Also, the entertainment behemoth has plans for a crossover film that will wrap up the plot of many of its Star Wars-related shows Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and The Mandalorian. The film is still in pre-production and, as a result, is currently lacking in details.
Andor Season 2 is currently in production with filming billed to wrap up in August. While there is no official release date from Disney, Gilroy stated, during the recent Star Wars Celebration event in London, that the series will arrive in August 2024.
