By George & Josh Bate
Star Wars Celebration Japan perfectly aligns with the release of Andor Season 2, making Tokyo the perfect place for Diego Luna and company to talk about the new show and even give fans a sneak peak of what’s to come. And that’s exactly what happened.
Day 2 of Star Wars Celebration Japan saw the panel for Andor: A Star Wars Story unfold. Those in attendance included series creator Tony Gilroy, executive producer Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna, Adria Arjona, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Alan Tudyk.
Before the panel began, 140 cosplayers dressed as Narkina 5 prisoners made their way onto the Celebration Stage and, eventually, into the crowd itself chanting “One way out!” Check out some videos of the cosplayers below….
During the panel, Diego Luna, who now also executive produces the season, described what’s to come in Season 2. “It’s big, you know?” Luna teased. “In every possible way. There’s more adventure, action and drama…It’s emotionally charged. You have the stories of all the characters you met in Season 1 and all these new characters from Season 2 and, because we’re heading into Rogue One, many familiar faces.”
Diego Luna affirmed that you need to watch Rogue One after watching Andor Season 2 as your perception of the 2016 Star Wars film will change.
Executive producer Sanne Wohlenberg broke down the upcoming season by the numbers. Andor Season 2 required…..
- 140 sets across 7 countries and 24 locations
- 700 costumes for the principal cast alone
- 152 creature costumes created
- 30 droids created
- 1,300 VFX shots
Mon Mothma actress Genevieve O’Reilly spoke glowingly, not only about Andor, but about the fans that make the production worth it. O’Reilly said that she is glad the seasson is finally releasing as she felt they “were sitting on a diamond” for a while.
O’Reilly confirmed that Mon Mothma’s arc in Andor Season 2 begins on Chandrilla amidst the wedding of her daughter Leida.
Dedra Meero herself Denise Gough also spoke about the panel, and very quickly proved how amazing of an actress she is given the discprency between her endearing personaity on stage and terrifying demenaor in the show.
Gough revealed that Dedra’s origins will be explored in Season 2. “We find out where Dedra comes from this season,” Gough said.
Regarding Dedra’s arc this season, Gough remarked, “It was much darker this season.” She added, “It was much less girl boss. Much more fascist.” That line in particular got a great reception from the Celebration crowd.
There wouldn’t be a Dedra without Syril. Accompanying Denise Gough on stage was Kyle Soller, the actor who plays Syril Karn. The bulk of Soller’s time speaking at Celebration was dedicated to taking about the relationship between Dedra and Syril this season. “It’s really really weird,” Soller said. “There’s a lot of staring, but no touching…It’s pretty spicy.”
Things are similarly spicy (yet in a certainly more wholesome way) with Bix and Cassian this season. Adria Arjona discussed how her character will have a romantic relationship with Cassian this season, satisfying many fans who wanted to see their characters connect from Season 1.
But it’s not all happy for Bix. Arjona’s character is coming off a series of traumatic events from Season 1, namely being tortured at the hands of Dr. Gorst. “When we first meet her in Season 2, she’s left her home,” Arjona said. “And kind of really trying to reconstruct herself….and cope with everything that happened with Dr. Gorst.”
Joining the cast of Andor this season, but returning to the Star Wars universe overall, is Alan Tudyk. In Rogue One, Tudyk’s K-2SO became a fan favorite, delivering sassy lines and having a greater banter with Cassian. During the panel, Tudyk joked that he has been holding out for his own spin-off series titled “K2 Fast, K2 Furious.”
Diego Luna spoke glowingly of getting to work with Tudyk again after their time together on Rogue One. Luna remarked that he couldn’t stop laughing when he first saw Tudyk again in the suit he needs to wear to the film series.
Andor Season 2 will depict the first meeting between Cassian and K-2SO, described previously by Tony Gilroy as “a meet cute.” Luna spoke about how “it was nice to witness” the birth of K-2SO, but said, “I’m not going to talk about he gets born.”
Attendees to the Andor panel were then treated with an exclusive screening of the first episode of Andor Season 2. Some members of the media, including ourselves, have had a chance to watch all 12 episodes of the show. You can check out a round-up of people’s reactions to Season 2 here.
The panel concluded with an extended trailer for Season 2 depicting all sorts of new footage. Set to a remix of the fist-thumping “Niamos!” by Nicholas Britell. The trailer featured a lot of action and drama. A blink and you miss it shot near the end of the footage showed a first look at Admiral Raddus in the series.