Earlier this year, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Star Wars: Andor” fans received some unfortunate news. Ben Mendelson said, or at least suggested, that he would not be returning as the Imperial Director Orson Krennic in Tony Gilroy’s “Andor,” the architect of the Death Star.
“As for being contacted by Lucasfilm for a new project, I can tell you that no, I have not been approached for something like this,” he said around the time “Andor” season two was already well into production, leading many to presume it wasn’t happening.
However, Diego Luna said this past weekend at ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024 that “Andor” suggested we might see many familiar “Rogue One” faces in season two.
“I can tell you, ‘Rogue One’ is coming, so there will be characters there that you will recognize,” he said. “There will be cool stuff. For those who love ‘Rogue One,’ this season is going to be very special.”
READ MORE: Tony Gilroy Discusses Taking ‘Star Wars’ Seriously, The Original 5-Year-Plan, & Where ‘Andor’ Is All Headed [The Rogue Ones Podcast Interview]
And we’re happy to report that Ben Mendelson will, in fact, be back for season two, likely sometime near the end of the season.
Late last week, we talked to Mexican filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios (“A Cop Movie,” “Museum”) for his excellent and upcoming kitchen drama “La Cocina” which stars Raúl Briones and Rooney Mara, and a very eclectic cast of newcomers (read our review).
Already revealed as one of the directors of season two—along with Ariel Kleiman and Janus Metz—while Ruizpalacios was paranoid about saying anything about “Andor” given how secretive Lucasfilm is, he did seem to slip up on some details inadvertently. He said directing episodes of the series was a treat, especially directing heavyweight actors like, “Stellan Skarsgård, Forest Whitaker, and Ben Mendelsohn,” presumably not realizing he was revealing something of a spoiler (and sorry to blow up your spot).
While cagey, Ruizpalacios also allowed that he was given the honor to direct the last three episodes of the 12-episode series, and as series creator Tony Gilroy told us last year, the end of “Andor” season two leads directly into the events of “Rogue One” which likely means Mendelsohn’s Krennic only turns up around the end of the season.
“Our final scene of the show is no secret,” he told the Playlist in 2022 on our The Rogue Ones podcast. “It’s going to be [Cassian] walking across the tarmac to get in the ship to go to the Rings of Kafrene to go meet Daniel Mays’ [Tivik informant character that Cassian kills in ‘Rogue One,’ because he’s become a liability], he’s going there.”
“Andor” season two will be vastly different from season one, featuring many time jumps and telling the events of a five-year period over the course of 12 episodes, essentially Cassian’s growth as a member of the Rebel Alliance, leading up to his role as Captain by the time “Rogue One” rolls around. (Tony Gilroy wrote the season’s first three episodes, Beau Willimon penned episodes four through six, Dan Gilroy wrote episodes seven through nine, and newcomer to the team Tom Bissell wrote episodes ten through twelve).
Who else might we see, given the last three episodes of “Andor” are likely set just days and then hours before “Rogue One,” well, Alan Tudyk as the voice and motion capture of reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2SO seems like a sure bet. And if we’re really lucky, wouldn’t it be great to see Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso and Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook and the conversation they had that’s alluded to in “Rogue One,” where Erso tells Rook he can “make [things] right; if I was brave enough and listened to what was in my heart,” defect to the Rebel Alliance and let them know about where the plans for the Death Star are located. Time will tell, but that would be a great treat.
One last tidbit: while Ruizpalacios wasn’t sure when “Andor” season two would arrive, he did say maybe early 2025 was a possibility. More from this interview soon.