The first footage from Andor Season 2 suggests the show is getting ready to feed the Star Wars merchandising machine, and that bodes well for LEGO Star Wars in 2025.
Disney has dropped a first look at the highly-anticipated second season of Andor as part of a 2025 sizzle reel, and while we see some familiar faces in Cassian, Luthen Rael and K-2SO, there’s one part of the footage that stands out above all else: the debut of what’s apparently a new TIE Fighter variant. From the front it’s giving TIE Interceptor vibes, but the chunky back end feels a little bit closer to Star Wars Legends’ TIE Avenger.
The most important part though is that a new TIE Fighter variant is basically a recipe for merch sales, and that implies that the show’s second season is leaning a little more into the toyetic nature of a galaxy far, far away than the first. While Andor Season 1 is widely regarded as the best Star Wars TV show to date, it doesn’t really lend itself to toys – as demonstrated by its sole LEGO Star Wars set, 75338 Ambush on Ferrix.
The rumour mill hints we’re getting at least one set for Season 2, a new take on a Rogue One ship in 75399 U-wing Fighter, but there’s certainly scope for more in 2025 (we don’t yet have a complete picture of what to expect from next year’s LEGO Star Wars line-up). This new TIE variant could easily be in the mix, because we all know the LEGO Group loves a TIE Fighter, and for it to be part of the first footage suggests Lucasfilm could have given its merchandising partners plenty of lead time for development.
This isn’t to say that Andor Season 2 is going to use merchandise as a crutch that could take away from the story – this new TIE Fighter could perhaps be a prototype that Cassian has to steal, for example, which would make it central to the story rather than included solely for the sake of turning into a toy. And if there’s any Star Wars showrunner to place your faith in right now, it’s Tony Gilroy.
But if Lucasfilm and the LEGO Group are smart about it, we’ll hopefully see more love given to Andor Season 2 from a merchandising perspective than Season 1 enjoyed without any detrimental consequences to the quality of the show itself. We’ll have to wait for 2025 to find out for sure, but there are reasons here to be optimistic…
And whatever happens from a product perspective, a new K-2SO minifigure at least feels nailed on – which is good news for those who missed out on the original Rogue One sets, because the droid fetches a pretty penny on the aftermarket now. Whether he’ll pop up in the U-wing remains to be seen, as the minifigure line-up for that rumoured set has yet to be reported.
Andor Season 2 debuts on Disney+ on April 22, 2025. Click here to check out every LEGO Star Wars set rumoured for 2025.
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