Andor fans 'unbelievably angry' as iconic Star Wars character recast after more than 20 years

Andor fans are up in arms after a fan-favourite character from the saga was unexpectedly replaced.

In the second season's sixth episode of the Disney+ series, titled What a Festive Evening, it was shockingly revealed that Princess Leia's adoptive dad, Bail Organa—originally played by Jimmy Smits—is now being portrayed by Benjamin Bratt of Law and Order and Poker Face fame.

This change comes as a surprise to many, given that Smits has been the face of Senator Organa for over two decades, having first appeared in 2002's Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and most recently in the 2022 miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi starring Ewan McGregor.

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The switch has left viewers scratching their heads, with one X (formerly ) user expressing their outrage: "THAT recast has made me so unbelievably angry."

Another fan pointed out the continuity issue: "Like it's Jimmy Smits as Bail in AOTC, ROTS, Kenobi,and Rogue One!", reports .

"The fact it's Smits in Kenobi and especially Rogue One makes the recast 100X more jarring and ridiculous.

"Andor Season 2 also had reshoots so they could've just done what they did for Cumberbatch in Infinity War."

A different viewer raised a question about the necessity of the recasting: "Hey so while we're all celebrating how great #Andor remains, can we talk about how pointless the Bail recast was?

"That brief blip was so pointless? Why even bother putting someone in Jimmy Smits' shoes for...that?"

On , Star Wars buffs were torn about the show, with one user posting: "Can't believe they recast Space Jimmy Smits."

Another chimed in with: "I was like, that's not Bail! Kind of disappointed about that too. I guess his schedule must've been too busy.

"And for what too?" queried a third viewer. "A 3 second cameo they could have easily cut or wrote off with a line of dialogue like 'ahh you just missed Senator Organa'.

"I know this s*** doesnt matter at all and shouldnt bother me but like come on lol."

Yet, numerous fans were overjoyed to witness the character return to the Star Wars fold, applauding Bratt's rendition.

A devotee shared an image of the new actor as Bail, exclaiming: "I love Jimmy Smits as Bail but this IS Bail. He was just drawn by a different comic artist. Great recast."

When asked why Smits was not brought back for the role, Andor's head honcho Tony Gilroy disclosed to Entertainment Weekly: "We couldn't work it out.

"The scheduling didn't work out. We really tried hard, but he wasn't available and couldn't make it."

Andor season 2 continues Wednesdays on Disney+.