The second season of the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series Andor is being showered with praise from Rotten Tomatoes critics.
Andor, of course, is a prequel series to the hit film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which was released in theaters in 2016. In the film, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) are among a group of resistance fighters on a mission for the Rebel Alliance to steal design plans for the evil Empire that contain a weakness that makes the powerful weapon vulnerable.
Directed by Tony Gilroy, Andor Season 1, which consisted of 12 episodes, was released in 2022. Andor Season 2, which also consists of 12 episodes, will debut on Disney+ with the first three episodes on Tuesday.
“The official summary for Andor Season 2 partially reads, “The second season 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.”
In addition to Luna, the cast for Andor Season 2 includes Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Alan Tudyk, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau, Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker.
The review embargo for Andor Season 2 lifted on Monday and the series to date has earned a 98% “fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 55 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus for Season 2 of the Star Wars series reads, “Investing startling conviction and gravity into the Star Wars sandbox, Andor‘s superb second season lights a fire of rebellion that heats up the screen.”
What Do Individual Critics Have To Say About ‘Andor’ Season 2?
Kelly Lawler of USA Today is among the top critics on RT who give Andor Season 2 a “fresh” rating, writing, “The second season is a deeply affecting narrative about love, sacrifice and belief that is desperately dark, even if Star Wars fans know that eventually, the good guys will win.”
Nick Schrager also gives Andor Season 2 a “fresh” rating on RT, writing in The Daily Beast, “Thrillingly intricate, suspenseful, tragic and hopeful, it fulfills the promise of the galaxy far, far away, telling a uniquely nuanced, mature, and gripping story that’s at once distinct from, and yet inherently wedded to, the Skywalker Saga.”
Another top critic lauding Andor Season 2 on RT is Sophie Butcher of Empire Magazine, who writes in her “fresh” review, “The blood of this iconic franchise — the heart, the values, the triumph over evil — runs through its veins. It will make you fall in love with Star Wars, whether for the first time or the 50th.”
Also joining most of the top critics in praise of Andor Season 2 on RT is Alison Herman of Variety, who writes, “With Season 2, Andor cements itself as the gold standard of what modern Star Wars can be.”
The only “rotten” review from the top critics on RT comes from Barry Hertz of the Globe and Mail, who writes, “Could a second (and final) season of Andor live up to the level and intensity of storytelling already set by [director Tony] Gilroy? To borrow the syntax of a franchise-favorite hero: largely, no, the answer is.”
Andor Season 2 will begin streaming on Disney+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT with the release of the first three episodes. The remaining episodes will be released three at a time every Tuesday through May 13.
