Rebellions may be built on hope, but acclaimed television series about rebels are built on hype.
Andor A Star Wars Story creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy, stars Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Alan Tudyk, and producer Sanne Wohlenberg more than delivered on that front at the Star Wars Celebration panel Saturday morning.
They didn’t come empty-handed, bringing along the first episode of Season 2 for fans to see three days before Andor’s Disney+ premiere on April 22.
“Thank you so much for this reception, this love, this energy, it’s so special,” Luna told the crowd, adding a message in Spanish for the legion of Latin American fans watching at the Celebration Stage and across the planet via the Star Wars livestream.
“There are one hundred and 25 countries represented together in this room… it’s beautiful to be part of this.”
The revelations at the panel come just two days before the first three episodes debut on Disney+. Season 2 picks up one year Maarva Andor’s funeral on Ferrix, with Cassian already deeply involved in the fledgling rebellion. Imperial senator and future Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma is also continuing her own hero’s journey at great personal cost.
“It’s so big in every possible way. We’re getting close to Rogue One, so everything matters so much, it’s so emotionally charged,” said Luna.
Andor’s second season will unfold over four three-episode arcs that take the spy turned rebel leader right up to the events that introduced the character to fans in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Gilroy stressed that while Andor Season 2 follows the titular character, the show is a “choir” that tells the full stories of the deep supporting cast.
“We care about these characters as much as you do, and we will tell every story full out,” said Gilroy. “We go all in on all of them all the way.”
O’Reilly revealed that fans will get a glimpse of Mon Mothma’s home planet of Chandrila as a wedding looms. But that’s just the start of the future leader of the Rebellion’s arc.
“For Mon Mothma, in particular, you really see her having to work under the eyes of the Empire, and we go to some dark places this season,” O’Reilly said. “She must step out of the shadows and risk everything to speak some truth.”
Arjona teased that Bix struggles in exile from Ferrix as she recovers from torture at the hands of the Empire. But, on the plus side, love is in the air for her and Cassian.
“We get a sneak peek into this beautiful relationship that starts forming,” said Arjona. “We really get to see these two characters come together.”
And that isn’t the only relationship fans can expect from Season 2.
“Syril is starting out this season feeling pretty good about himself. He’s got a little promotion, he’s got some new threads, he’s on a new planet, he’s mixing in with new people, he’s flexing the small amount of power he has in his own little pocket of the Empire,” said Soller.
“And he’s trying to flex this,” he said pointing at Gough, who plays Imperial Security Bureau Supervisor Meero.
“It goes super well,” dead-panned Gough.
“Just a lot of staring,” retorted Soller.
The two actors then reenacted their intense staring on stage to the delight of the Celebration crowd.
The season also features the return of fan-favorite droid, K-2SO, played by Tudyk, who returns to the performance-capture role he made famous in Rogue One.
“I did for a while hold out for my own spinoff, ‘K2 Fast K2 Furious,’” Tudyk joked after a long ovation from the panel audience. “We get to see how our two characters meet and the birth of K-2SO will be seen this season. It was very exciting to do, to be born.”
“I was laughing the moment I saw him again in that very tight suit,” said Luna.
Wohlberg rattled off some of the mind-blowing numbers to show how big Season 2 would be: 140 sets across seven stages, two backlots, 24 different locations, 700 costumes, 156 creatures, 30 droids, and 4100 VFX shots.
Even before the panel started, the energy inside the Celebration Stage was palpable. One hundred and twenty fans dressed in prisoner garb from Season 1 jogged through the Makuhari Messe auditorium chanting, “One way out!”
After the cast and producers’ revelations, Luna announced a gift for all the fans in attendance.
“London was the first convention we went to, and I learned you don’t go with your hands empty,” said Luna. “And this one is very special because it’s not only the second season, it’s the last one. So, this convention means a lot to us and we wanted to bring something very special.”
With those words came the biggest reveal: the cast and crew shared the episode and a sneak peek of the rest of the season.
Andor A Star Wars Story Season 2 debuts on April 22, 2025, only on Disney+.
Get all the news from Star Wars Celebration Japan right here on StarWars.com, all weekend long.
