Andor season 2 release date, cast plans, and what we know so far

Andor’s first season has come to a close with a fantastic finale and a funeral that was simultaneously heartbreaking and inspiring. But with the show’s first 12 episodes now complete, it’s already time to look ahead to season 2. Cassian has joined up with the rebellion in an almost-official way, which means there’s plenty of ground to cover in the show’s last 12 episodes as he grows his role in the Rebel Alliance.

We’ve known for a while that Cassian Andor’s journey from a young thief to a Rebel hero would last for two seasons and 24 episodes, but how those episodes play out has remained a mystery. Thankfully, after the conclusion of season 1, Tony Gilroy sat down with Polygon to offer a few insights into the show’s second season, without giving too much of Cassian’s story away.

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for Andor season 1 and hints about the events of season 2.]

Andor’s first season brought Cassian to the brink of the rebellion, committed to throwing his life at the cause. As the series explored what makes someone give their life for a cause such as the rebellion, Gilroy wanted it to drive season 1.

“This first half was about him becoming a revolutionary and committing to it, and sort of marrying himself to it, and sort of the blood oath,” Gilroy told Polygon in an interview.

Cassian appears to now have found his home in the Rebel Alliance. If his meeting is anything to go by, then he will be able to move up and gain more importance. This entire season leads directly up to Rogue OneCassian, a respected and influential member of the rebellion.

“Cassian’s commitment to the cause is not in doubt. If it was about him becoming a revolutionary, then the second half is about him becoming a leader,” said Gilroy.

Gilroy said that to bring him up to this point: Andor The second season will be very similar to the first.

“We’re going to skip a whole year. We come back a year later, many things have changed,” Gilroy said. “And we’ll do three episodes, and we’ll jump a year. And we’ll do another three episodes, and we’ll jump a year. And we’ll come back to the final four episodes, and those episodes will be the last three days really before Rogue One,In the last scene, you will be taken into Rogue One.”

Now instead of Cassian’s own journey to rebellion, AndorThis will provide a glimpse into the Rebel Alliance’s history. While the Rebels have always been Star Wars’ stock-standard version of the good guys — brave people willing to stand up to the fascist regime of the Empire — the series has rarely taken the time to look at what the actual human cost of rebellion on a galaxy-wide scale might look like. Even though the series has always focused on Star Wars’ stock-standard version of the good guys, The Rebels — brave people who stand up to fascist rule by Empire — rarely considered what the actual human cost of rebellion across the galaxy. Andor’s first season has already scratched the surface of that topic, Gilroy says the second season will dive all the way in.

“So what we’re doing is, we’re showing in a very different way now — it’s not about becoming a revolutionary. It’s watching how the Alliance itself is going to put pressure on people,” Gilroy explained. “Are you in? Are you in? Was what happens to Luthen Raels and the Saw Gerreras gangsters? What a difficult task it is to create a coalition. How much betrayal there is, how much failure there is — there’s some canonical material that we have the opportunity to play with. So it’s still a show about regular people making incredible decisions in difficult times.”