Disney+Andor Season 2 has recast a character first introduced in Star Wars over 20 years ago, and nobody knows exactly why.
This week, the revolution will be televised when Andor – the best Star Wars TV show – finally returns with its long-anticipated second (and final) season.
Unlike the first season, Season 2 will take place over four years, with each block of three episodes chronicling one year’s worth of action-packed, sneaky, and galaxy-altering events. Eventually, the show will find its way to the start of Rogue One – which is handy, as you can stream it on Disney Plus straight after.
This time, there are a few more familiar faces in the Andor cast – but one character will be played by someone different.
Andor Season 2 recasts Bail Organa
Lucasfilm/NetflixBail Organa will be played by Benjamin Bratt in Andor Season 2, replacing Jimmy Smits.
Smits made his debut as Organa in 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, also appearing in Revenge of the Sith before reprising his role over 10 years later in Rogue One. Interestingly, he also showed up in 2022’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.
It’s unclear why Bratt was cast as Organa instead of Smits. While there may be unreported projects in development, he’s only attached to one upcoming title – Dexter: Resurrection, where he’s returning as Miguel Prado. It’s possible that he turned the project down, or there may be other scheduling issues (work or personal-wise) that got in the way.
This was revealed in The Mary Sue’s review, which reads: “We get to have glimpses of [Mon’s] and Bail Organa’s (this time played by Benjamin Pratt) relationship and how it changes.”
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While most fans agree Bratt is a great choice for the role, they’re still sad (and confused) by Smits not coming back. “What I find insane is that he came back for Kenobi but not Andor. But I’m sure Benjamin Bratt will do great, Tony and team wouldn’t have recast if he wasn’t essential to the story. Better than a deepfake,” one user wrote.
“It’s a little sad that we got Jimmy Smits back as Bail Organa delivering a fantastic performance in Kenobi, instead of getting to see him do fantastic monologues in Andor in a series with actual competent writing,” another commented.
“If you face this dilemma as a studio it’s a great alt actor choice but otherwise… WTF? Smits owns that role,” a third posted.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy didn’t specifically address the recasting of Smits’ character, but he said: “Legacy characters are really tricky to bring back.
“They’re very, very expensive. A lot of times, their schedules don’t work out. There’s probably a couple people that we wanted to have in Yavin at the end, who are in the beginning of Rogue, but we just couldn’t get them because they were busy.”
Make sure you know exactly what time Andor Season 2 drops on Disney Plus. You can also check out everything we know about Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars: Starfighter, all the upcoming movies and shows in the franchise, and every major TV show coming in 2025.