A major Star Wars character returns in Andor season 2 – who's playing him?

Andor season 2 brings back a legacy character – but not as we saw him last. The following will contain spoilers for Andor season 2 episodes 4-6, so turn back now if you're not up to date!

Now, if you're still reading, then you'll know that none other than Bail Organa shows up in this set of episodes. That's not a massive surprise, considering Bail appears in Rogue One on Yavin 4. But, his involvement in Andor season 2 wasn't confirmed pre-release.

There's also something very different about him: for the first time ever in live-action, he's not played by Jimmy Smits. Instead, a brand new actor is playing Bail in Andor season 2, and we've got all the details below.

Who plays Bail Organa in Andor season 2?

Bail Organa is played by Benjamin Bratt in Andor season 2. You might recognize Bratt from Miss Congeniality, Poker Face, Modern Family, or Doctor Strange.

Smits does not return to reprise his role, despite coming back for 2022's Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy has revealed why Bail needed to be recast. "If anything, legacy characters are really tricky to bring back," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "They're very, very expensive. A lot of times, their schedules don't work out. 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."

Andor continues weekly on Disney Plus, and you can keep up with our Andor season 2 release schedule.

For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store.