Disney+ confirmed the release date for Andor Season 1 and how many episodes will be in the show's first and second seasons.
At Star Wars Celebration 2022 in Anaheim, California, Andor creator Tony Gilroy said 12 episodes were shot for Season 1 of the series. Later this year, Gilroy will return to shoot another 12 episodes for Season 2. Additionally, Disney+ confirmed Andor as releasing on August 31 with a two-episode premiere. The first season will be set five years before the events of 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, while the second will bridge the subsequent four years, with an ending that leads straight into the film.
Andor is a Rogue One prequel that follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) during the early years of the Rebel Alliance's rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Andor will feature Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma and Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera. Speaking about the plot earlier this month, Gilroy said Andor begins with "a very simple, almost film-noir situation for a thief, a skeevy kind of guy who gets in big trouble trying to sell something to save his ass." However, he's been watched by the Rebellion and ends up getting recruited to the group's cause. Gilroy also promised Andor would alter fans' understanding of Rogue One. Ian McDiarmid, who plays Emperor Palpatine, also teased his return in Andor, though it's not clear in what capacity.
Andor debuted in Rogue One, which took place before the events of 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope. The movie saw Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Andor working with a crew to steal the plans for the Death Star. The movie ended with them successfully stealing the plans. However, Andor and Erso were killed in the process. Still, their sacrifice enabled the Rebellion to destroy the Death Star, thus winning its first major victory against the Galactic Empire.
Disney announced Andor in 2018. Filming on the TV show began in 2020 at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom, but production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which shutdown productions across the world. The first trailer for Andor was also released at Star Wars Celebration. Filming on Season 2 is set to begin soon.
Andor releases August 31 on Disney+.