News culture The Most Expensive Star Wars Project Ever Isn’t a Movie, It’s Coming Soon to Disney+
Published on 01/01/2025 at 2:03 p.m.
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The budget for Andor season 2 has skyrocketed, approaching $300 million, a record for a Star Wars production, surpassing even the budgets of the most recent films.
Summary
- Astronomical expenses
- A worthy sequel?
Astronomical expenses
Star Wars has never skimped on resources to offer spectacular productions. The colossal budget of Andor, with 645 million dollars for its two seasons (including 290.9 million for season 2), is further proof of this.
With a budget per episode comparable to that of Stranger Things and Wednesday on Netflix, the new season of Andor costs more than the film The Rise of Skywalker ($275 million). Although Andor is an impressive project and its first season was almost perfect, one can question the profitability of such an investment for Disney and Lucasfilm.
The initial budget was impacted by the SAG-AFTRA strike, which halted filming of Andor season 2 in mid-2023, after a 2022 start. The resumption in January 2024 and the finalization in February inevitably led to an increase in costs. In addition, the total cost announced does not take into account expenditure after the end of 2023, which suggests that the final figure will be even higher. Still, a $129 million tax rebate earned from filming in the U.K. should soften the financial impact for Disney.
A worthy sequel?
From its conception, Andor was thought of as a story in two seasons, its creator Tony Gilroy already knowing its conclusion thanks to Rogue One. This narrative limitation made it possible to maintain a tight and concentrated plot, the series not having the intention of extending beyond that.
Rogue One, often cited among the best Star Wars films, even at the level of the original trilogy, served as the basis for Andor, which developed this concept to become one of the most popular Star Wars series on Disney+. This quality places significant pressure on the conclusion of the series, which must live up to its predecessors.
The Mandalorian had an ideal launch on Disney+, with critics and a won over audience. But from season 3, the series lost its splendor. The early craze, notably for Grogu, the return of Luke Skywalker (with a rejuvenated Mark Hamill) and the comeback of Boba Fett (which nevertheless gave rise to an unconvincing spin-off series), was no longer there.
Unlike other series, Andor benefited from careful planning from its conception by Gilroy. The latter was thus able to work in depth on the story and the dialogues, avoiding flaws which could annoy spectators and impact critics. The wait for season 2, scheduled for April 2025, is therefore short before discovering the conclusion of the story and its link with Rogue One.
