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Andor season 2 potential release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know

"I'm carrying forward something like 30 characters."

By David Opie

31 Jan 2023

Disney+

Andor spoilers follow.

Andor is galaxies (far, far away) beyond anything else being produced in the Star Wars universe right now. Everything from the moving dialogue and nuanced character work to that gorgeous set design means this is a world we want to stay in forever.

While that won't be possible, we can confirm that Andor is coming back for its second and final, season. Cassian's story was always going to end with the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and it's reassuring to see that showrunner Tony Gilroy plans to tell a whole, complete story without outstaying Andor's welcome. Not that this show could ever outstay its welcome, but you get the gist.

So what's next for Cassian after that emotional finale? Grab a weapon and join us in the resistance as we blast our way through everything you need to know about Andor season two on Disney plus.

Andor season 2 potential release date: When will it return on Disney+?

Ahead of the season one finale, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy revealed that season two started filming on Monday, November 21 (via Collider), and it will carry on until August 2023.

But then there's the post-production work to consider too. Referencing the schedule for season one, Gilroy explained, "If past is predicate, and we do the same thing we did before, it'll be on the same schedule. It will come out two years later."

"The only place you can accelerate the processes is in post, and the only way you can accelerate in post is with money, and money is tight," added Gilroy.

Andor finally addresses biggest fan complaint

"So, I don't really know, there would have to be some serious motivation next May or June or something. Someone would have to say, 'Wow, we really need this, and we're willing to pay X.' Rogue One proved, if you throw money at it, you can do post really, really fast. It's just very, very, very expensive."

Unless the House of Mouse starts throwing some cold, hard cash at Andor, it looks like Cassian won't be back for a second season until 2024 at the earliest.

Andor season 2 cast: Who will be in it?

Disney+

Andor has quite an expansive cast, but we would expect to see the majority of the following return for the second, final season:

• Diego Luna as Cassian Andor
• Kyle Soller as Syril Karn
• Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen
• Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael
• Denise Gough as Dedra Meero
• Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma
• Faye Marsay as Vel Sartha
• Varada Sethu as Cinta Kaz
• Elizabeth Dulau as Kleya Marki

One character who probably won't return is Fiona Shaw's Maarva Andor AKA Cassian's adoptive mother, although she did appear in hologram form at her funeral in the finale, so we can't rule out another cameo entirely.

Andor season 2 plot: What will the second season be about?

Disney+

A lot happens in the Andor season one finale, too much to go into here, but what's worth noting is how the final scene on the ship echoes a previous confrontation between Cassian and Luthen.

Again, their differences are at the forefront, namely that Luthen wants to kill Andor. "You don’t make it easy," says Luthen. But Cassian is done running. He has a mission now, and he needs Luthen's help to achieve it.

"No game. Kill me. Or take me in," proposes Andor. Luthen's confused face is the last thing we see before the credits roll, followed by a post-credits scene that reveals the Death Star being built. You know, the one that Cassian will eventually die to try and stop.

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During a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Gilroy explained the nature of this threat in more detail, revealing that it won't take centre stage immediately when season two returns.

"It’ll still be the looming threat. Rogue One is all about discovering what it is. [Season two is] about who picks up the final breadcrumbs that lead to the beginning of Rogue One.

"In Rogue One, Cassian goes to the Ring of Kafrene to meet Tivik, who is from Saw’s group, and he says, 'Oh my God, it’s a planet killer.' Cassian knows some shit, but he’s looking for answers. So we’ll [cover] the breadcrumbs that lead up to that, sure. But we have a situation where Cassian will never know that what he was building is actually the machine that’s going to kill him."

Andor post-credits scene includes cruel new twist

Things are gearing up now that we're heading into the second, final season, which is going to be "very different" from season one, according to Gilroy (via Rolling Stone):

"I’m hoping what we’re gonna do in the second half will make the meal feel really satisfying. Because the first year is really about him becoming, and the last line of this tranche of 12 episodes will sum up where we’ve been trying to get to. And we come back a year later. It’ll be very different.

"The next four years [of story] are not about becoming a revolutionary. They’re about learning to be a leader and how difficult it is to put the alliance together and what happens to people who are the original gangsters versus the establishment and a lot of different other issues."

Disney+

Gilroy also added: "I’m carrying forward something like 30 characters. So what becomes interesting is now we can play the negative space. When you jump a year, what happened in between? You know the people, you know what their trajectory was. It’s energizing. We will be starting new characters, obviously, in the next 700 pages. There will be all kinds of new things, and will be just as granular as we ever were. And really, the second half is about what does time do to these people?

"People grow up, and people get tired, and people betray each other, and people change their minds, and people get weak, and people get crazy."

Diego Luna has seen early versions of season two’s scripts, and it sounds like the writing standard remains as high.

"I mean, my reaction is, I don’t get shocked anymore about the quality of the writing because I know Tony, I know the writers, I know the process," Luna said (via Collider). "And even though when you read something that is a work in progress, it’s already better than half of what you’ve read before in your life. It’s incredible. It’s incredible."

"Most of what’s happening in this season, [I’ve known] since we started planning season one. Structurally, it got tighter. And obviously, by deciding to do just two seasons, things got compressed. But structurally he had it clear from scratch, from the beginning.

"That’s why it doesn’t feel like TV. It’s not like, 'What should we do now?' It was never that way. It was never that way. We had a clear idea of where we were heading, and what was going to happen, and which characters were going to be part of this journey. Everything was there from the first time he pitched me his idea."

"But now, reading it is delicious. Now I can very selfishly say this. It’s like knowing that I’ll be acting on this show, knowing I’ll be learning those lines, knowing I’ll be also working with these actors just makes me feel like I’m the luckiest actor ever.

"And now knowing that there’s an audience that likes it and that cares about this, and that celebrates the show for the same reasons I celebrate the show, makes me feel that I couldn’t be luckier. It’s clearly the best time in my career so far. I’m enjoying this. I’m part of the whole process. As a producer, I get to witness the process of everyone in this team, and the learning, and the journey is amazing."

Andor season 2 trailer: When can we see a promo?

Disney+

Don't expect new footage for Andor season two until late 2023, unless Star Wars Celebration reveals a sneak peek next spring. The new run has started production, after all.

Andor streams on Disney+, with new episodes every Wednesday.