There was a lot of buzz about Benjamin Bratt replacing Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa in Andor, and after the recent episode drop, some fans are wondering why he would show up for just a small cameo. As it turns out, the series has bigger plans for him.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Tony Gilroy confirms that Bratt’s main role as a representative of Alderaan hasn’t come yet, and they made him appear earlier so fans could ‘get it out of their system’ by the time he takes the center stage. Gilroy explains:
“I put him in episode 6 in an arbitrary way so people will get the conversation out of the way until the next week when he really starts to work. It’s one of those situations where I want to do something simple. We don’t do many things that are unnecessary, but it’s like, ‘Let’s get him in here now so people can discuss it for a week and get it out of their system and then he can come back to really work.’ I didn’t want the guy’s work to be confused with his introduction.”
Though he only had a small cameo this week, Bail Organa is set to make an appearance at the Senate, and this will probably be around the time we should expect Mon Mothma to make a public claim of renouncing the Emperor which she does in Rebels.
Since this is Andor though, I’m sure they’re going to give her a different speech that captures the same message for Star Wars fans.
Admittedly, it’s a shame that Bail can’t be reprised by Smits for a show that’s actually critically acclaimed, but I think Bratt’s doing a fine job—even for just the small appearance he’s had so far.
Catch the next arc for Andor when it comes out next week.
