The second day of Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 started with a focus on Star Wars’ TV future, one release more imminent than the other. Andor took the starting morning slot, hyping up a show I don’t think many fans need much hype for at this point (but the general public might), while the first details on Ahsoka’s second season, like Anakin Skywalker’s return, Rory McCann’s casting as Baylan Skoll, a panel-only teaser, and more took up the eponymous character’s panel. Check it all out below!
Ahsoka
I’ve linked to the panel’s start in the livestream above, in case you want to check it out, see when Hayden Christensen walks out and hear some of the discussion, though you won’t find the special old-style teaser they showed off (it was out there, but last time I checked it’s gone, though I have a screenshot of Ezra from it in the gallery below)! It was sort of an interesting panel since they’ve not even starting filming yet, so it started with a look back at season one and then a lot of early concept models and art (see gallery below) for what they are planning in season two. Hayden revealed he’ll be back as Anakin Skywalker, though it’s not clear if it’s just for more Force Ghost stuff, Clone Wars-era things, and/or World Between Worlds again. Rory McCann (Game of Thrones) taking over the role of Baylan Skoll after Ray Stevenson’s untimely passing, which Dave Filoni said they got Ray’s family’s permission to do, was confirmed and we got out first look at him in the role (also in the gallery below!). Admiral Ackbar will feature and go up against Grand Admiral Thrawn in battle, which I’m really hyped for. The Mortis Gods will have a presence, as teased by Baylan’s storyline at the end of season one, curious how they’ll handle that?!! And Zeb, who is appearing in 2026’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, will finally be reunited on screen with his fellow Ghost crew members in season two!
As for the cool retro trailer, it reveals quite a bit more, like Sabine and Ahsoka will face off against some unique threats in the new galaxy, culminating in a showdown with Baylan, while Shin Hati looks to face off with Huyang. There will be giant stone-like kaiju creatures that are holdovers from a The Clone Wars arc that never made it to screen about Ahsoka returning to the Jedi Temple and exploring the Sith Temple it’s built over, but I don’t know if that means if this is that arc being done as a flashback or if they’ll be in the new galaxy. There will be more Nightsister magicks and mysteries. Ezra will join the pilots in battle against Thrawn. And Chopper is getting a gatling gun, because of course the true agent of chaos needs more chaotic means of destruction! It sounds pretty exciting and exactly what one would hope from where the season one ended. The set up for season one also was full of potential and the execution was…not always the most stellar, and it’s still only Dave Filoni in the writing room unfortunately, so…we’ll have to wait and see if season two can deliver or not on these exciting ideas.
And here’s the Celebration Live Stage interview with Rosario Dawson, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni:
Andor
For the Andor panel (which starts on the livestream video around the 13 minute mark, which I linked to), given the show is set to premiere in only a matter of days and my wife and I are working our way through a rewatch (we’re halfway!), this one held less interest for me simply because I don’t want to hear or see much more at this point. Ethan Sacks (Bounty Hunters) did a stellar write-up of the panel for the official site, with lots of intriguing talking points and little videos, including Alan Tudyk’s (K-2SO) funny joke about waiting for a “K2Fast, K2 Furious spin-off show,” so make sure to check out the article for all the good new tidbits. I liked the video at the top of the article, which I’m assuming was the ‘look at the rest of the season’ video panel attendees in Japan saw after watching the very first episode (I thought they might show two, but any amount of episodes with fans is a cool moment)! General fan reaction has been rather positive, as expected, while members of the media were also able to unleash their full season thoughts, since saw the whole season already. Andor’s second and final season hits Disney+ for the rest of us on April 22, 8pm CST, with the first three episodes going up at once, and each week after has another three to enjoy. I’m not sure how quickly I’ll be able to get reviews up with this format, but I’ll be reviewing each three-episode chunk together, so check back to the Manor next week for my first review, otherwise below are the cast interviews on the Celebration Live Stage:
Adria Arjona, Genevieve O’Reilly, and Tony Gilroy:
Denise Gough and Kyle Soller
Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk
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