Benjamin Bratt, who portrayed Bail Organa in Andor Season 2, says he would be game to reprise the character in another Star Wars project. Following the Andor series finale, the actor sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss his role on the acclaimed drama, his thoughts about replacing Jimmy Smits as the Senator, and his possible future in the galaxy far, far away. Bratt had nothing but high praise for Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy, cracking that he’d work in “craft services” if it meant they could collaborate again.
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“Wide open. Listen, as long as there’s interest, I’d show up for Tony to do craft services on his next job,” Bratt said. “I just have such tremendous respect for him. And the shame of it was I didn’t really ever see him on set. He was stateside and then was locked down because of the writer’s strike. He put together a remarkable team of writers and directors and actors, and the whole thing works from top to bottom. This is television as good as it gets, as far as I’m concerned. And I’m just so grateful and immensely proud of the fact that I am in some small part of it.”
When Bratt’s casting in Andor was first announced, his character was kept under wraps. It wasn’t until the actor’s first episode, “What a Festive Evening” that his role was revealed. Smits, who portrayed Bail in three films and the TV series Obi-Wan Kenobi, was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts. Bratt told Entertainment Weekly that he rewatched Smits’ scenes to ensure he honored what Smits did while putting his own stamp on the role.
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Andor recently wrapped up its run with a final batch of episodes that lead directly into Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Bratt appeared on three episodes in Season 2; Bail has a key supporting role as one of Mon Mothma’s closest allies in the early days of the Rebellion.
Seeing Bratt as Senator Organa was likely initially jarring to long-time Star Wars fans, but he comfortably slid into the role and delivered a strong performance. His take on the character captured the same spirit viewers are familiar with without coming across as an imitation of Smits. Seeing how well he turned out in Andor, fans wouldn’t mind seeing Bratt reprise the role if the opportunity presented itself. Smits would probably get first call given his history with the character; however, if he were unavailable again, Bratt’s proven himself as a compelling Bail.
The bigger question, of course, is if this will ever happen. As Star Wars fans know, Bail dies when the Death Star destroys Alderaan, so there aren’t any obvious spots where the character could pop up again. There are plenty of Star Wars projects in development, but none of them are set within an era of the timeline where Bail would be alive. There’s no guarantee one will get off the ground, either. The prequel era and the time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope have already been extensively covered, and it’s hard to see what else is left to explore. Still, a prequel series to Rogue One may not have seemed like an obvious idea, and it became a massive success. Perhaps Lucasfilm will find a way to tell more stories involving Bail.
