Previously, Ben Mendelsohn has been coy about whether or not he was returning to a galaxy far, far away in Andor, the prequel series to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. However, it seems that his previous statements were a red herring as a slip from a director has pointed that the actor will reprise his role as Director Orson Krennic.
As reported by The Playlist, Andor Season 2 director Alonso Ruizpalacios spoke to the publication about the upcoming season. While initially coy, he did seem to slip up by saying he was happy to work with "heavyweight actors like 'Stellan Skarsgård, Forest Whitaker, and Ben Mendelsohn,'" the latter being new knowledge that had not been announced yet.
And as such, until there is an official announcement from Lucasfilm, always take these things with a grain of salt as things can always change.
This comes on the heels of Diego Luna teasing more Rogue One cameos while he was speaking at ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024 this past weekend. This confirmation that Ben Mendelsohn will reprise his role in the second season opens the door to "What if's" for who else might come. It's been confirmed since before Season 1 aired that Alan Tudyk would arrive in Season 2 as Cassian Andor's faithful droid companion K-2SO. We can also assume that characters like Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), Ruescott Melshi (Duncan Pow), and Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) will make their return too. However, with Director Krennic's return, it could open the door for Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen).
It's exciting to know that Ben Mendelsohn will make his return as the campy, cape wearing Krennic. It was strange that he returned to The Bad Batch's second season to record one whole line of dialogue. If I had to speculate, he more than likely recorded that while they had him for Andor, which makes more sense. Regardless, it's great to see him back.