There's been speculation for months now that Andy Serkis will return as Kino Loy in Andor season 2, especially after the actor appeared on stage alongside the rest of the show's cast at Star Wars Celebration.
No one at the event outright confirmed Serkis will reprise his second Star Wars role, but that news has now come directly from the actor himself.
When we last saw the prisoner, he was leading a breakout on Narkina 5 alongside Cassian Andor, only for his story to seemingly end in tragedy. The only way to truly escape the facility was by jumping into the water below, but poor Kino admitted he couldn't swim, meaning he either had to stay behind or risk certain death.
Neither we nor Cassian learned what became of him, but Serkis recently confirmed his return while talking to ET Online (via SFFGazette.com). "If [Kino] jumped, that would be the end of him and he would be out of the picture," he said. "But no, he’s alive and he’s working out his next move."
"It’s incredibly gratifying to know that the writing [resonated]. But the fact that people are responding [and are] emotionally engaged in these characters and every single one is so well written and complex...It means something."
With season 2 of Andor set to jump a year every three episodes, we're guessing there will be ample opportunities for Kino to reappear. What will have become of him is hard to say, though we know the character has absolutely nothing to do with Supreme Leader Snoke (Serkis has confirmed on multiple occasions that Kino is not in any way connected to the First Order leader).
A brief teaser for the show premiered at Star Wars Celebration, though there's no indication that will be released online any time soon. You can, however, read our description by clicking here.
Andor season 2 is set to premiere on Disney+ next August.