Like many of you, we weren't necessarily champing at the bit for Andor when it was first announced. Sure, more Diego Luna is never a bad thing, but did we really need to follow his journey to becoming a Rebel when his final moments were already chronicled in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story?
As it turns out, the Disney+ series ended up making for compelling viewing and only got better with each new episode. By the time we visited Narkina 5, Andor had established itself as one of the greatest Star Wars TV shows ever made and we know many of you are eager for the second (and final) season.
Unfortunately, the wait for that will be a long one, but showrunner Tony Gilroy offered a pretty solid idea of when we can expect to see Andor back on Disney+ during Lucasfilm's Studio Showcase panel at Star Wars Celebration yesterday.
"We started shooting in November," he told fans. "We're about halfway. We're gonna shoot through August. We're on [an] exact schedule. [We'll] finish in August, spend another year on post. I suppose we'll come out the following August."
During a later panel looking back at making the first season, Gilroy confirmed that, "[Cassian Andor is] a committed member now [of the Rebellion. That internal debate is over." He'd go on to reiterate past comments that season 2 will end where Rogue One began with the hero embarking on his final mission.
A teaser trailer was also shown and, while it won't be released online, we took notes and can recap it for you.
Beginning by showing a number of returning characters, Syril looks a lot happier and quite a bit more powerful than when we last saw him. It appears saving Deedra has helped improve his lot in life, and while we're sure he still hopes to enact his vengeance on Cassian, the Rebel is busy reuniting with Bix after their emotional farewell in the season 1 finale.
We also see Mon Mothma say, "If we do not stand together, we will be crushed," hinting at a larger role for her in the Rebellion. After lots more snapshots of Andor's cast, including a fiery battle with Stormtroopers, the intensity increases and we finish with a Cassic looking very much like James Bond, presumably because he's on, well, a secret mission!
Needless to say, next August can't get here soon enough.