Credit: LucasfilmThe new actor has broken their silence on the surprising recast.
The Star Wars saga continues its small-screen evolution this spring as Andor returns to Disney+ with a long-awaited second season. After an extended break in 2024, the critically acclaimed series is back in the spotlight. Season 2 premiered on April 22, with six of the 12 episodes now streaming.
Originally launched in 2022, Andor quickly became a different kind of Star Wars series. Created by Gilroy and starring Diego Luna as the titular Rebel spy, the show stood apart with its grounded storytelling, darker tone, and emotionally complex characters. Though it didn’t match the streaming popularity of titles like The Mandalorian or Ahsoka, the series earned strong critical acclaim for its layered world-building and narrative ambition.
Set five years before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope (1977), the series carves out its own niche in the larger canon. Rather than aligning with the Mando-Verse, Andor serves as a direct lead-up to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), chronicling the early days of the Rebellion and Cassian’s transformation from reluctant outlier to selfless hero.
Season 1 introduced an ensemble cast whose interconnected arcs provided a textured view of life under Imperial rule. Kyle Soller joined Luna as Syril Karn, Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen, and Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael. Fiona Shaw played Cassian’s adoptive mother, Maarva, while Genevieve O’Reilly returned as Mon Mothma. Andy Serkis and Denise Gough also left memorable marks as Kino Loy and Dedra Meero, respectively.
Now, Season 2 is raising the stakes both narratively and structurally. Instead of playing out over a single year like its predecessor, the upcoming episodes will span four years of story time. Each trio of episodes will represent one year, steadily moving Cassian and his allies toward the events of Rogue One.
Directors Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz, and Alonso Ruizpalacios will helm the new episodes. Tony Gilroy, his brother Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon, and Tom Bissell handle writing duties.
With the release of Episode 6, titled “What a Festive Evening,” Andor made waves not only for its story developments—but also for a surprising casting change. Toward the end of the episode, an important figure from the prequel era re-emerged: Senator Bail Organa. However, viewers quickly noted that the role, long associated with Jimmy Smits, had been recast.
A staple in Star Wars lore, Bail Organa was first introduced in Star Wars: Episode II–Attack of the Clones (2002) alongside Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker and returned in Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge of the Sith (2005), helping key Jedi escape Order 66 and agreeing to raise Leia in secret. He also appeared in Rogue One, The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), cementing his status as a behind-the-scenes architect of the Rebellion.
For all his live-action appearances, Smits portrayed the Alderaanian senator. But in Andor Season 2, the character is now played by Benjamin Bratt. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Gilroy addressed the change directly.
“We couldn’t work it out,” he said. “The scheduling didn’t work out. We really tried hard, but he wasn’t available and couldn’t make it.”
Gilroy continued: “Bringing back legacy characters is really complicated […] It’s very expensive. It’s very, who’s working when. A lot of effort went into it, but we just couldn’t work it out scheduling wise.”
Now, new information about this surprising recast has surfaced, with StarWars.com officially sharing comments from Benjamin Bratt. “I’ve always known Jimmy to be an incredibly talented actor,” Bratt told the site. “He possesses elegance, a natural grace, a goodness, really, an earnestness that this particular character requires.”
On why he was attracted to Andor, Bratt explained:
“I find the show’s writing to be very spare and yet it’s incredibly elaborate. It says exactly what you need to say to get the essence, the truth of the scene conveyed on the page. Even with the foregone conclusion that tragedy awaits our heroes, it keeps you hopeful. Tony’s story reminds you almost every episode that the human spirit cannot be extinguished. That’s the essence of good storytelling. We as a species have survived for millennia living on the stories we tell about ourselves…At the end of the day, if the human story is not moving you, then we’re not doing our job.”
Whether Bratt’s Bail Organa will return in the final episodes remains unknown. But fans already familiar with the timeline know the character’s ultimate fate: a doomed end on Alderaan, lost in the destruction wrought by the Empire’s superweapon.
For the rest of the season, Disney+ is releasing Andor Season 2 in three-episode arcs. The next drop is scheduled for May 7 and May 13, concluding the series’ run and effectively bridging the narrative between Andor, Rogue One, and the original trilogy.
This final stretch may prompt viewers to rewatch Rogue One with a new perspective, with both creator Tony Gilroy and lead man Diego Luna commenting on how it changes the perception of the 2016 Gareth Edwards movie. Recontextualizing the existing canon has become a hallmark for the modern Star Wars franchise. From The Clone Wars to various novels, comics, and live-action series, Lucasfilm continues to mine emotional and narrative depth from its sprawling mythology.
While recent entries like The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew struggled to find broad consensus among fans, Andor is positioned to recenter the franchise around complex storytelling and meaningful character arcs.
Adding to the momentum, Lucasfilm announced that a new animated series will debut during Andor’s run. Tales of the Underworld, the third installment in Dave Filoni’s Tales of anthology, arrives May 4—Star Wars Day—and will spotlight characters like Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman) and Cad Bane (Corey Burton) as they explore the galaxy’s criminal underbelly.
As the Rebellion rises and the Empire tightens its grip, Andor Season 2 offers not just a prequel, but a pointed, personal, and politically charged journey that redefines what Star Wars can be.
How do you feel about Jimmy Smits being replaced in the Star Wars franchise? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!