Three new episodes of Andor arrive on Disney+ later this evening, and while one of them features a familiar character, that person will not have a familiar face.
Princess Leia's father and Rebel leader Bail Organa makes his Star Wars return in the sixth episode, but in place of actor Jimmy Smits is Doctor Strange and Coco star Benjamin Bratt.
Smits first played Organa in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones in 2002 and later reprised the role in 2005's Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. That was it until 2016 when he made a surprise appearance in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. He's since appeared in Obi-Wan Kenobi, a series set several years before this one.
We don't know why he was recast, and neither Smits nor Bratt has commented on the change as we wrote this. It's likely a result of scheduling issues, as it's hard to believe the actor would simply give up a role he's inhabited for more than two decades now.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com), Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy recently addressed not feeling under pressure to deliver fan service and confirmed that a legacy character, who we can now confirm is Bail Organa, had to be recast.
"It's just amazing that [Disney] trusted us, and they backed our play all the way through," he started. "I know we kept delivering. Our dailies were always in, and we always made our mark. We did everything we said we were going to do, and the scenes were good. I know they were watching."
"If anything, legacy characters are really tricky to bring back. They’re very, very expensive. A lot of times, their schedules don’t work out," Gilroy noted. "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." Asked if one of those reasons is why Organa was recast, he replied, "Yeah."
The second season of Andor takes place as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.
Andor sets the clock back five years from the events of Rogue One to tell the story of the film’s hero, Cassian Andor, and his transformation from a disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.
Check back here later for our recap of the fourth, fifth, and sixth episodes of Andor season 2.