The two-episode Disney+ premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi is less than a week away, meaning most fans currently have their focus shifted away from an important project that will be released later in the year - Diego Luna's Andor. The show will serve as the first live-action Star Wars project to be released on Disney+ that isn't a part of the Mando-verse. It also comes with more of a promise than other series such as The Book of Boba Fett, as it has already been confirmed that it will run multiple seasons and dive into the birth of the Rebel Alliance prior to Rogue One.
Even though Andor is set to hit the streaming platform later in the year, an official trailer has yet to be revealed to the public. That could change soon though, as there have been rumblings that Star Wars Celebration, which will take place between May 26-29 in Anaheim, California, could be the time and place for the official first look.
Season 1 of Andor hasn't been seen by any of the fans yet, but the cast and crew have already begun discussing what to expect in Season 2. In a show that will have 12-episode seasons and over 200 cast members, it appears as though there will be multiple plot lines, lots of character interaction, and familiar faces.
A Glimpse at Season 2 of Andor
Andor showrunner & executive producer and Rogue One co-writer Tony Gilroy was recently interviewed by Vanity Fair to talk about the upcoming Andor series. The upcoming Disney+ show has already been confirmed to have a Season 2, which is already in development and expected to begin filming this fall, and Gilroy was able to speak about what to expect in the "second half of the novel" when it comes to the character of Cassian Andor.
At the same time, Gilroy also talked about the possibility of including Alan Tudyk's K-2SO at some point in the series. The showrunner confirmed as well that, like Season 1, Season 2 would also be 12 episodes in length.
When Andor was first announced, it was planned to span five total seasons. Recently, the show's director of photography confirmed that it had been shortened to three seasons, but according to Gilroy, Season 2 will "take (Cassian) into Rogue One," meaning that it could be possible, but not confirmed, that there will only be two seasons:
"We don’t have Alan Tudyk. Not yet, anyway. It is a second season, but it’s really, for me, the second half of the novel. This first season is about him becoming a revolutionary, and the second 12 episodes take him into Rogue One."
Gilroy then went on to talk about just how large the series is in scope. He mentioned that there are "211 speaking parts" and "probably 75 people in there who really matter." When it comes to Season 2, however, he claimed that there will be "at least a dozen" characters from Season 1 "with Diego at the middle of it."
The showrunner also teased that there will be some characters and plotlines throughout the series that won't "intersect" until Season 2:
"I have the sheet in front of me. I have 211 speaking parts in this show. There’s probably 75 people in there who really matter, and there’s at least a dozen seriously important characters that we’ll be carrying forward to the second [season.] It is a huge, orchestral, Dickensian ensemble cast, with Diego at the middle of it, and Genevieve at the middle of another part of it. They intersect. I’m not going to get into how they intersect. They do have an intersection—but they do not meet. They will not meet until the second half."
Gilroy also went into minor details about how Season 1 will begin with Cassian being "recruited" by the Rebel Alliance. He teased that the first three episodes would mainly focus around Cassian and that the show wouldn't start to "expand out" until after that:
"Our show starts with a very simple, almost film noir situation for a thief, a skeevy kind of guy who gets in big trouble trying to sell something to save his ass. Someone’s been watching him, a rebel talent scout, and he’s sort of recruited on the worst day of his life. On episode four, we leave there and we begin to expand out…
The Rogue One co-writer also noted that there would be a major event to happen by Episode 4 surrounding Genevieve O'Reilly's Mon Mothma:
"I bet that when episode 104 plays, when Mon Mothma finishes the episode, that there’ll be people tweeting about Mon Mothma."
Andor's Huge Future on Disney+
Andor will definitely have a Season 2, as it has already been confirmed that filming may begin as early as this year. However, the questions are all surrounding just how many seasons there will be by the end of the show's run.
The plan was originally to have five seasons, and then it was changed to three. No other changes have been confirmed since then, but Gilroy's comments about Season 2 leading into Rogue One almost make it seem like that could possibly be the last season. However, it is important to remember not to jump to any conclusions until there has been official word from Disney and/or Lucasfilm, as they are the ultimate shot-callers and decide how many seasons a Star Wars show will run.
Even if Andor does only last two seasons, it will still contain 24 episodes. This is the same number as what three seasons of The Mandalorian would be, which has eight episodes per season, and four seasons of a show like Obi-Wan Kenobi, which only has six episodes per season.
No matter what ends up happening with the number of seasons, it does appear as though the cast and crew have a pretty good idea of what has been planned out for the entirety of the show, leading right up to the start of Rogue One.
Andor will premiere on Disney+ later this year.
