ANDOR Star Benjamin Bratt On Replacing Jimmy Smits As Senator Bail Organa In Season 2 Of STAR WARS Series

ANDOR Star Benjamin Bratt On Replacing Jimmy Smits As Senator Bail Organa In Season 2 Of STAR WARS Series

In Andor season 2, Benjamin Bratt takes over the role of Senator Bail Organa from Jimmy Smits. The actor has now broken his silence on that and drops some hints about where the character's story goes next.

By JoshWilding - May 01, 2025 11:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Cassian Andor
Source: StarWars.com (via SFFGazette.com)

Andor season 2 is playing out during the four years leading up to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and A New Hope. Being set at that point in the Galaxy's history opens the door to legacy characters from the franchise making an appearance. 

While the Disney+ series doesn't feature any Jedi or Sith (Darth Vader, apparently, "doesn't have a lot to say"), Senator Bail Organa returned in this week's sixth episode. However, Revenge of the Sith and Obi-Wan Kenobi star Jimmy Smits had been replaced by Benjamin Bratt due to supposed scheduling issues. 

Talking to StarWars.com (via SFFGazette.com) about taking over the role of Princess Leia's father, Bratt said, "I’ve always known Jimmy to be an incredibly talented actor. He possesses elegance, a natural grace, a goodness really, an earnestness that this particular character requires."

Now, he's excited to take a deeper dive into how Organa went from being a Senator to one of the architects of the Rebellion. "We learn that he’s a brilliant strategist and capable of bringing some heat to the degree that it’s needed," the actor teased. "That’s what excited me and drew me to playing the character."

"I find the show’s writing to be very spare and yet it’s incredibly elaborate. It says exactly what you need to say to get the essence, the truth of the scene conveyed on the page," Bratt continued. "Even with the foregone conclusion that tragedy awaits our heroes, it keeps you hopeful. Tony’s story reminds you almost every episode that the human spirit cannot be extinguished."

"That’s the essence of good storytelling. We as a species have survived for millennia living on the stories we tell about ourselves. At the end of the day, if the human story is not moving you, then we’re not doing our job," he concluded.

Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy recently confirmed that Smits had to be replaced due to scheduling issues, and credited Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy for coming up with the idea of casting Bratt. 

Organa died on Alderaan when the Death Star destroyed the planet in A New Hope, so it's hard to think of any future projects where we'll see the character. If he does return, then Lucasfilm now has two actors to choose from. 

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.

An official look at Bratt's version of Senator Bail Organa can be seen below. 

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SteelGunZ
SteelGunZ - 5/1/2025, 11:19 AM
I hate prequels
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 5/1/2025, 11:40 AM
@SteelGunZ - I hate sequels more.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/1/2025, 12:10 PM
@GeneralZod - I'll see your hate and raise you a loathe.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/1/2025, 12:16 PM
@SteelGunZ - To me, the prequels just didn't meet expectations. The trilogy should've started with the Clone Wars and spent a lot more time there. We didn't need to see Anakin that young or the whole blockade and definitely not midichlorions. Start with young adult Anakin with Obi Wan as his mentor fighting in the clone wars. Give Mace Windu more to do, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto. The rumor is Lucas wanted to hire 3 directors to do the trilogy and nobody wanted it. All 3 should've made $1 billion and none of them did
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 5/1/2025, 11:42 AM
"Jimmy Smits had been replaced by Benjamin Bratt due to supposed scheduling issues."
User Comment Image
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/1/2025, 12:10 PM
I was afraid BB died. glad to know it was something like scheduling.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/1/2025, 12:15 PM
We need more then 20 seconds or so we got in ep 6 to really judge him as Bail but so far , he seems fine which isn’t surprising since Bratt is a good actor…

I know he’s meant to have a bigger role in the next arc atleast if not the rest of the season so I’m interested to see how he is and if he feels very different to Jimmy Smit’s Bail or not.
Pictilli
Pictilli - 5/1/2025, 12:20 PM
Even Smits didn't want to show up for this shit
Humby
Humby - 5/1/2025, 2:06 PM
@Pictilli - I don’t blame him considering how bad Kenobi was.

But considering this is the highest quality live action Star Wars since 1980, it’s his loss.
grif
grif - 5/1/2025, 1:09 PM
lol he looks just like Jimmy Smits. whats the problem?

slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 5/1/2025, 1:14 PM
Andor season 2 started off slightly better than season 1 but it’s still pretty friggin slow.
It’s like they made a Star Wars show for people who only want to watch what happens between the action parts of the plot.

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