Andor creator reveals why they recast major Star Wars character in Season 2

There’s a new Senator Bail Organa in the galaxy.The role of Princess Leia’s adoptive father was recast in the second season of the hit “Star Wars” series “Andor.”Benjamin Bratt officially stepped into the role in place of Jimmy Smits in the sixth episode that premiered on Disney+ Tuesday.Creator Tony Gilroy told Entertainment Weekly that they failed to get Smits, 69, to return as Bail.“We couldn’t work it out,” said Gilroy, 68.

“The scheduling didn’t work out.We really tried hard, but he wasn’t available and couldn’t make it.”“Bringing back legacy characters is really complicated,” the filmmaker continued.

“It’s very expensive.It’s very, who’s working when.

A lot of effort went into it, but we just couldn’t work it out scheduling wise.”Gilroy added to ScreenRant, “It’s really hard to bring legacy characters back for a whole variety of reasons.Money and scheduling and I mean, he [Smits] just wasn’t available.

It didn’t work out.He was doing his other show and we were under the gun and they couldn’t work it out.

They just couldn’t work it out.Believe me, we really tried, but it couldn’t happen.”Smits was busy shooting his CBS show “East New York” during the filming of “Andor” Season 2.The actor made his debut in the “Star Wars” franchise in “Episode II: Attack of the Clones” (2002).

He played Bail again in “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” (2005), “Rogue One” (2016) and the Disney+ miniseries “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (2022).Bail was first referenced in “Episode IV: A New Hope” (1977), in which he’s killed when the Death Star blows up his home planet Alderaan.Gilroy told EW that LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy came up with the idea to cast Bratt, 61, as the senator.“It was just a brilliant idea.

He’s a wonderful human being and really eager and beloved on set and really happy about what he does,” said Gilroy.The Oscar-nominated director also shared that Bratt’s br...