Rumor: Ben Mendelsohn Returning as Orson Krennic Alongside Other ‘Rogue One’ Characters in ‘Andor’ Season 2
Deploy the garrison! Ben Mendelsohn is reportedly making a comeback as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story antagonist Orson Krennic in the Disney Plus series Andor.
According to The Playlist, Mendelsohn will be returning as Krennic closer to the end of the show’s run with its second and final season. At what exact point is not clear, but considering that each three-episode arc of the series covers a year of Cassian Andor’s exploits in the fledgling Rebel Alliance, it is more likely than not that his appearance won’t happen until the last three episodes of the series, which directly lead into the events of Rogue One.
Indeed, the director of those last three episodes is the one who spilled the beans about Director Krennic. The Playlist discovered this bit of information while talking to director Alonso Ruizpalacios, who praised the opportunity to work with actors like Mendelsohn, Stellan Skarsgård, and Forest Whitaker. Ruizpalacios is one of three directors who will be working on the final season (with the others being Ariel Kleiman, who directed six episodes, and Janus Metz, who directed three episodes). Writers for the season include Tony Gilroy, Beau Willimon, Dan Gilroy, and Tom Bissell.
This report comes in spite of prior indications from Mendelsohn about his apparent lack of involvement with the series, which itself followed initial reports of him making a return to the franchise.
Recently, Andor lead actor Diego Luna confirmed the presence of Rogue One characters while speaking at ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024 (via Popverse). However, he didn’t mention Orson Krennic specifically. Here’s what he said:
“I can tell you, Rogue One is coming, so there will be characters there that you will recognize. There will be cool stuff. For those who love Rogue One, this season is going to be very special, and it’s going to be fascinating to go straight to Rogue One after watching this second season, because you will see Rogue One from a different perspective. I promise you that… I can tell you one thing, Tony Gilroy is a fantastic writer, and he created amazing characters that we got to meet in Andor Season One. It’s going to be a very rich second season, because all those stories matter today. It is a true ensemble piece. It got very complicated in Season One, and everything has to get resolved. Every story matters.”
The Playlist also noted that showrunner Tony Gilroy previously indicated that Daniel Mays, who played Tivik (the ill-fated Rebel Alliance informant that Cassian Andor has to shoot instead of extract) in Rogue One, will also be making an appearance, which only makes sense when it’s already been revealed that the final scene of the series will lead directly into Andor’s debut appearance in the film. Gilroy previously teased that Alan Tudyk may also be making a return as the wisecracking reprogrammed droid K-2SO.
Star Wars: Andor Season 2 is set to release in 2025 exclusively through Disney Plus. All twelve episodes of Season 1 are available to watch on streaming.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
