Andor season 2 release date, cast and plot as 'the best Star Wars series ever' returns

Andor season two is just around the corner and will finally see Diego Luna returning to his iconic role as the scavenger-turned-rebel Cassian Andor.

The highly-anticipated follow-up is returning nearly three years after the first outing wrapped up on Disney+.

Widely considered one of the best entries in the franchise for years by both fans and critics, the first season followed Cassian as he helped build the Rebel Alliance which would eventually take on the Galactic Empire.

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Season two will pick up several months later and follow the events of four years leading up to the 2016 prequel film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

But when will the series return, who is in the cast for season two and what will happen to Andor and his allies?

When will Andor season 2 be released?

The second season of Andor is scheduled to release its first three episodes on Tuesday, 22nd April at 9pm ET.

However, this later release time in the US means the premiere won’t be available in the UK and Europe until the early hours of Wednesday morning, the 23rd April.

Episodes will drop at 2am GMT or 3am CET, so fans eager to see them first will have to stay up late to get their Star Wars fix.

Season two will then continue on Tuesdays or Wednesdays in three-episode blocks until 13th/14th May.

Who is in the cast of Andor season 2?

Some familiar faces will be returning, including central cast members Diego Luna as the titular Andor, plus Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael and Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma.

Also returning from season one are Hit Man’s Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen, Adolescence’s Faye Marsay as Vel Sartha and ’s newest companion Varada Sethu as Cinta Kaz. Joplin Sibtain returns as Brasso, as well as Muhannad Bhaier as Wilmon Paak.

Back as Imperial officials are Kyle Soller as Syril Karn and Denise Gough as Dedra Meero, plus Kathryn Hunter as Syril’s mother Eedy Karn. A-list guest star Forest Whitaker will also reprise his role as Saw Gerrera.

Season two newcomers include Théo Costa Marini as Dilan and Alaïs Lawson as Enza Rylanz.

Finally, returning to their roles from Rogue One are Alan Tudyk as the droid K-2SO and Ben Mendelsohn as Director Orson Krennic.

What will happen in Andor season 2?

Andor’s second and final instalment will follow the Rebel Alliance four years before the Battle of Yavin, which culminates in the destruction of the first Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

As the rebellion grows stronger so too does the Empire as Krennic gets closer to unleashing the planet-destroying superweapon.

An official synopsis reads: “Season two carries [on] the story of Cassian Andor and the emerging rebel alliance over the climactic four years that lead to the discovery of The Death Star and the events of Rogue One.

“Season two will see relationships intensify as the horizon of galactic war draws near. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound."

Explaining this season’s timeline, creator Tony Gilroy elaborated in an interview with TechRadar: “In the first year, it's a story set across, like, a Friday, Saturday, and a Sunday.

"Then, we jump a year and we set that story around seven days. Then, we jump another year and I think that's told across two weeks.

“The last block will tell a story set in the five days before Rogue One, so it's very cool. From a storytelling point of view, it's very sexy."

As for the specifics, fans only have the trailers and their own imaginations to predict what happens in this stellar expansion of the Star Wars mythos.

Andor season 2 premieres Wednesday, 23rd April on Disney+ in the UK.