It’s been a long wait for a second season of Andor, and it hasn’t exactly been easy. The Star Wars series was originally slated to return for Season 2 in 2024, but a handful of setbacks forced Lucasfilm to delay Andor indefinitely. Fortunately, that pivot hasn’t done much to discourage fans of the series: Andor is the franchise’s most acclaimed and beloved shows, and its reception at this year’s D23 Expo is proof of that.
Disney returned to Anaheim for its yearly fan convention just a few weeks after an action-packed appearance at Comic-Con. Despite all the new the studio shared in San Diego, there were still a few updates to share at D23, particularly for upcoming Lucasfilm series. One in particular was delivered by Cassian Andor himself, Diego Luna, who took the stage at the Honda Center to unveil some brand-new footage for Andor Season 2.
When we last saw Cassian, he was just beginning to find his place in the Rebel Alliance. Season 1 followed the character across one tumultuous year of his life, but Andor’s second (and final) season will accelerate his development in a major way.
“This second part will follow Cassian over the period of four years, where he grows into the leader we see make the ultimate sacrifice in Rogue One,” Luna told the crowd at D23, citing the 2016 film that first introduced his character to the Star Wars galaxy. Andor Season 2 leads right to the events of Rogue One, which means that — in just 12 episodes — the series will have to show us just how the Rebellion was founded, how alliances were made, and how certain villains were born.
A sneak peek at Andor Season 2
Lucasfilm unveiled some new Andor footage at D23, paired with brief interviews with returning cast members. Adria Arjona — who plays Cassian’s ally (and potential love interest) Bix Calleen — teased a season full of “so much growth and so much destruction.” As in Season 1, our heroes all seem to be on their own journeys. There’s no telling whether someone like Bix will eventually team up with high-ranking rebels like Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Rielly) or Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård). But the stakes are much higher for every rebel this season, and they’re each determined to defeat the Empire.
“If I’m giving up everything,” Bix says in one scene, “I want to win.”
The sizzle reel also teased the return of a few fan favorites from Rogue One. Ben Mendelsohn is officially reprising his role as Imperial baddie Orson Krennic, and Cassian’s trusty droid, K-SO (performed by Alan Tudyk) will finally play a role in the prequel. Both Krennic and K2 feature briefly in the clips shown as D23; behind the scenes, Tudyk expressed his excitement at returning to his Rogue One roots: “I love being that character again.”
Exciting developments aside, Andor is poised to deliver a real reckoning for every member of its ensemble. The sizzle reel teases more action and espionage for Cassian and his allies: Cassian is seen on an undercover mission, Mon Mothma tries to hold her own in the Imperial Senate, and rebel fighters are attacked by droids that look a lot like K2.
There’s no release date just yet for the series, but the teaser did confirm that new episodes will drop some time in 2025. Fans will have to wait just a bit longer for the series to return — based on this new footage though, it’ll be well worth it.
