Will Andor season 2 bring back Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic?

With Andor season 2 set to bring the story right up to the beginning of Rogue One, it stands to reason that we should see a few familiar characters from the movie, including Ben Mendelsohn as Imperial Director Orson Krennic.

As Krennic is one of the main architects of the Death Star, it would make sense for him to appear in Andor season 2, but Mendelsohn had previously suggested that he would not return for the series. “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,” the actor said earlier this year. However, Andor season 2 director Alonso Ruizpalacios may have let it slip to The Playlist that the actor will be returning after all.

The director, who will be helming the last three episodes of the 12-episode series, told the outlet, “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.” Although Skarsgård and Whitaker appeared in the first season of the Star Wars series, Mendelsohn did not. The other episodes of the new season will be helmed by Ariel Kleiman and Janus Metz.

Prior to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Andor season 2 was previously reported to be on track for an August 2024 release, but the delays caused by the strike obviously pushed that back. As for when the series will return, Stellan Skarsgård has said, “It will probably be out towards the end of the year or early next.” The actor, who plays Luthen Rael in the series, also seems to think that the second season will be just as good as the first. “It’s the last season of it. It ends where Rogue One starts so it’s up to that point,” he said. “I think it will be very good as already the first one was satisfying for me because it’s sort of Star Wars for grown-ups – it’s a more realistic and complicated society that they’re living in and the claustrophobia of the fascist regime is palpable. I think we have a good season ahead of us.“