Included in this article Spoilers About the second arc of the second season of “Andor.”
Senator Alderaan Bail Organa is a famous “Star Wars” figure“ The myth from the first article in 1977 comes when Princess Leia Organa escaped with a tattoo and sent a recording of the HoloMessage to Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was the most hopeless time of the Galaxy. Bale asks Leia to retrieve Obi-Wan Kenobi and invite him to the crease of the rebellion, and invite Death Starr’s plan to the rebel base. However, Darth Vader captured Leia and cited the example of Alderan by using the Death Star to turn it into space dust. Bail Organa met a tragic end among Alderanian citizens during its explosion, and was not seen on screen in the 1977 film.
advertisement
The Bail Organa character was not actually seen in the body until 2002’s “Attack Clones” played by actor Jimmy Smitt. At that point, Smit may have been best known for his stints on the popular TV shows “LA Law” and “Nypd Blue,” but suddenly he entered a distant galaxy.
Set decades before “New Hope” and “Attack of the Crones,” Smitz had the opportunity to flesh out a character that would become Princess Leia’s adoptive father and a rebellion apocalypse against the Empire.
Bail Organa showed multiple on-screen appearances after clone attack
After his first appearance in “Attack of the Clone,” Smitz returned to “Revenge of the Sith” with witnesses at the end of the Jedi. After saving Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, he took on the adoption of Anakin Skywalker’s daughter Leia… and that may have been the end of the character’s journey in Star Wars. Instead, it seemed just the end of Smit’s tenure as a character. Bail Organa appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, this time being called out by Phil Lamarr.
advertisement
It didn’t seem like there would be more “Star Wars” storytelling opportunities, particularly including Bail Organa as a character, until George Lucas announced that he was developing more films and selling Lucasfilm to Disney. This gave Jimmy Smitt two more, and two more, back into his role. On the big screen of 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” and again in the 2022 Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the show ultimately described one of the oldest relationships in “Star Wars.”
But that could really be the end of the line because Jimmy Smitz and his run played the character. As of the second season of “Andor” in 2025, Senator Bail Organa was recast again.
advertisement
Jimmy Smitz won’t appear as the Bail Organa in Andre Season 2
A quiet surprise awaited fans watching the second season of “Andor,” which we were reintroduced to Senator Bail Organa, but it wasn’t Jimmy Smitz’s familiar face that greeted us. Instead, it was Benjamin Bratt. Bratt is perhaps best known as the voice of Ernesto de la Cruz in Law and Order, Miss Congeniality, and Pixar’s “Coco.” But now he will take Aldelan’s “Star Wars” actor and senator mantle.
advertisement
Watching Brat in this role was a bit disorienting at first, but the filmmakers behind the show first gave the audience a cameo in the episode to acclimate the change. His next inevitable appearance (I knew this big character would only be relegated to a minute of screen time), his mannerism, voice and gravita, coupled with his non-other Alderanian outfit and cape, is sure he has fully embodied the role of Bail Organa. It’s hard to blame them for recreating him, rather than writing such a critical character from the story completely on a show that ultimately works perfectly and on a show that read “Andor” written by Jimmy Smitt for some reason (at the time of this writing, there’s no reason for the Switch).
advertisement
“Andor” Season 2 will air new episodes every week on Disney+.
