Andor Season 2 is upon us, and it will serve as a canonical bridge between its debut season and the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), which, in itself, is a precursor to the original trilogy. Where the first series on Disney+, The Mandalorian, served as a supplement to the classic trilogy with respect to some of the more fantastical elements of the saga, Andor has largely remained street-level and gritty, occupying some of the more dramatic spaces Star Wars has to offer. With a couple of trailers released to ramp up the hype for this highly anticipated season, let’s check in with the major players featured in the fight between The Empire and the burgeoning Rebellion!
Here's what we're most looking forward to with Andor Season 2.
Curating Cassian
Andor’s titular character, Cassian Andor, is well-known from his major role in Rogue One, however, his backstory was fully fleshed out over 12 episodes in Season 1. There are a couple of loose threads that may or may not pay off at some point in the second season's four 3-episode arcs. Starting with the highly likely look at Cassian’s first encounter with K-2S0, who is not brightly featured in the trailers but is already Andor’s companion by the time of Rogue One, it will be interesting to see how Diego Luna’s Cassian wins Alan Tudyk’s Imperial droid character over to his cause (this meeting has been touched on in the comics but could play out differently in live-action). The other element to Cassian’s story that has not really been touched on since the first episode (barring flashbacks) is the fact that prior to Andor’s involvement with the growing Rebellion, he was actually searching for his sister. Could Cassian be reunited with his sister in Andor Season 2?
Guile of Gerrera
Saw Gerrera, played by Forest Whitaker, is a natural inclusion in Andor Season 2, as he made an appearance in the previous season and plays an important role in Rogue One as well. As it has been fun to see Saw in his various stages throughout multiple appearances across Star Wars media, fans will be curious for the opportunity to find out how he gets to the point where he is badly injured and requires heavily modded machinery to live (not unlike a certain Dark Lord of the Sith). We know that Luthen and Saw had very radical outlooks on their role within the Rebel Alliance, so any missions involving Gerrera are sure to be thrilling and dangerous.
Monitoring Mothma
Mon Mothma, reprised by Genevieve O’Reilly, is not only a classic character from the original Star Wars trilogy, but also a key player to this story with the finesse required to make a rebellion possible under such an authoritative regime as The Empire. In Andor Season One, Mothma must walk the fine line between politician, who means well trying to push policies through the Galactic Senate while tending to her family, and a leader of a Rebel Alliance that is still finding its footing. There was talk of an arranged marriage between Mon’s daughter and the son of a wealthy banker in the previous season, and it looks as though the trailer promises this exchange in one of the arcs of Season 2.
Luthen's Legacy
Stellan Skarsgard’s Luthen will make his glorious return, after Andor Season 1 revealed him to be somewhat of a necessary evil in his efforts to make an organized Rebellion a possibility. As we see even from Cassian himself from the early moments of Rogue One when he kills an informant of the Rebellion who was doomed to be tortured and killed for information by The Empire, there are extreme and often unsavory lengths that some rebels are willing to go for their cause – the ends justify the means. These are not the Luke Skywalker’s of the galaxy that achieve their heroics through amicable avenues; rather, they represent the reality that the Rebel Alliance took a village to accomplish and that there really were heroes and villains on both sides.
Bix and Bricks
Bix (played by Adria Arjona) is seen in the trailers as well as glimpses of Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) and the rest of the Ferrix crew that managed to escape in Andor's first season. Bix had the tragic misfortune of spending a large part of Season 1 as a prisoner of The Empire, being tortured by the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) for information, so it will be intriguing to see what contributions she is able to make for the greater good this season. While we know the fate of the characters of Rogue One, we have yet to see what happens to the other characters introduced in Andor that have not popped up in any other Star Wars properties.
Orsin's Orwellian Opus
Director Krennic, a compelling villain of The Empire played by Ben Mendelsohn, is making a return to Star Wars in Andor Season 2. This makes sense as he is overseeing the construction of the Death Star, which we saw a portion of that operation on Narkina 5 when Cassian served as a prisoner there. Krennic on his own will be a threat to be sure, but some of his finest moments in Rogue One were when he mixed it up with the likes of Darth Vader or Grand Moff Tarkin. Could Andor Season 2 grant another scintillating appearance of Vader himself?
Dreading Dedra
A new villain, played by Denise Gough, named Lieutenant Dedra Meero is an ambitious card-carrying member of the ISB who will be bound and determined to stop Cassian Andor and his rebels. Through Dedra’s eyes, the audience saw the ruthlessness and bureaucracy of the Empire. Her dedication, much like Orson Krennic’s, will make her formidable in the coming fight for the galaxy. All of Andor’s antagonists make it pretty clear that the heroes/anti-heroes must do whatever it takes to stop the Empire. The ISB, like any Imperial faction, answers to the Emperor, so is there any chance that Palpatine himself makes an appearance in this final season of Andor?
Serial Syril
Another wild card that Andor has to offer is that of Syril Karn, played by Kyle Soller. He is a company man (seemingly aligned with the Empire) who seeks recognition, validation, and the opportunity to outgrow his meager lifestyle, which is largely determined by his Mother. Karn has a romantic interest in Dedra Meero, and it would appear through the events of Season 1 that he is also motivated in taking down Cassian. Though he finds himself on the wrong side, he defines himself by his convictions of doing the right thing. Could Syril be a much-needed turncoat for the Rebellion that could turn the tide of the battle?
Andor is now streaming on Disney+!