Casting is critical in any project, especially Star Wars, but in a show like Andor – one where gritty realism is more essential than anything since Rogue One – recasting is likely the best option when familiar faces aren’t available. Here, showrunner Tony Gilroy explains the reasons behind the absense of long-time Bail Organa actor Jimmy Smits and the arrival of his successor in the role, Benjamin Bratt, an actor suggested by producer Kathleen Kennedy.
Senator Bail Organa was first referenced in the very first Star Wars movie when A New Hope came out in 1977. Senator Organa was blown to smithereens along with the rest of Alderaan by the Death Star, as Grand Moff Tarkin made Organa’s adopted daughter Leia watch… while her real father, Darth Vader, stood by. We finally got to meet Bail on screen in the prequel movie Attack of the Clones, with veteran L.A. Law and NYPD Blue actor Jimmy Smits inhabiting the role. Smits continued to play Organa in the Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One films as well in the 2022 Obi-Wan Kenobi streaming series and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game.
However, when Bail showed up for this brief Andor scene conversing with Mon and Perrin, it was not Jimmy Smits playing the rebellion hero, but a new (yet recognizable) face — Benjamin Bratt. The recasting was certainly surprising, especially considering Smits played the role in the film on which the prequel series Andor is based, Rogue One. So why wasn’t Smits once again portraying the savvy senator? According to creator Tony Gilroy, it was simply a matter of logistics.
“We couldn’t work it out,” Gilroy tells Entertainment Weekly. “The scheduling didn’t work out. We really tried hard, but he wasn’t available and couldn’t make it.”
This is one of the problems that can crop up when you try to use previously established characters in sequels, prequels, and spinoffs. “Bringing back legacy characters is really complicated,” Gilroy notes. “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.”
