2023 was a full year for Star Wars fans. The third season of The Mandalorian delivered some killer episodes and left a power vacuum set to be filled by the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn as teased in the season finale of Ahsoka. A trio of animated series also hit Disney Plus with Tales of the Jedi joining the second seasons of The Bad Batch and Visions. Rumors had Lucasfilm increasing the volume of Star Wars projects in 2024 but an official preview of the studio’s Disney Plus slate listed only two projects set for release…and neither of them was the second season of one of the most beloved live-action projects yet.
Andor took Star Wars fandom by storm when it debuted in 2022. Creator Tony Gilroy carefully crafted the first season of the Rogue One prequel to be the antithesis of Disney+’s other, popular live-action Star Wars series such as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Rather than loading Andor with fan-favorite character cameos, Gilroy set up shop in a grimy corner of the universe inhabited by a plethora of brand-new characters. Akin to Game of Thrones, each of these new characters had their parts to play in the first twelve episodes of Andor. So dedicated to developing this corner was Gilroy that he often pushed Diego Luna’s title character to the periphery of the story to provide room for gems like Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael to have their stories told as well. However, the season finale put Cassian on track to where he needs to be to help save the galaxy far, far away in Rogue One.
Coming out of Star Wars Celebration 2023, it seemed Andor was on track to debut sometime late in the Summer of 2024; however, with Disney UK’s 2024 Disney+ preview only listing The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew as streaming releases, it now seems fans may be waiting until 2025 to catch the second season of Andor.
While production on Season 2 of Andor was paused due to the WGA and SAG strikes, it was believed there were only a few weeks left of filming to be done, so it’s unlikely that’s the major driving factor behind the apparent move to 2025. It’s more likely that Andor is in a line of falling dominos related to Bob Iger’s return to Disney and his mandate that their biggest studios have a renewed focus on the quality of their streaming efforts. With Skeleton Crew moving into 2024 from an expected 2023 release, it seems there’s simply no room on the slate for a third live-action series and so Andor falls into 2025.
About Andor
The Andor series explores a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It is an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.
The series is a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It rewinds back five years from the events of Rogue One to follow Cassian Andor on his journey to get to the movie. We’ve
Tony Gilroy on Season 1 of Andor
done twelve episodes for the first season. The twelve episodes that we’ve done cover one year in time. We’re going to do another twelve that are going to take us over
the next four years into Rogue One.
Diego Luna (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Narcos: Mexico) returns as Cassian Andor, and Genevieve O’Reilly returns to her role of Mon Mothma. O’Reilly has a history with Star Wars, having first appeared in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and then Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as well as voicing the character in Star Wars Rebels. They are joined by Stellan Skarsgård (Dune, Chernobyl), Adria Arjona (Morbius, Father of
the Bride), Denise Gough (Under the Banner of Heaven, Too Close), Kyle Soller (Poldark, Brexit), Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve, Baptiste) and Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones, Deep Water).
The creator and showrunner for the series is Academy Award® and BAFTA-nominated
writer/director/producer Tony Gilroy, who also wrote Episodes 1, 2, 3, 11 and 12. Gilroy, who co-wrote Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed feature films Michael Clayton and The Bourne Legacy and wrote the first three Bourne Films: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum.
