Disney and Lucasfilm’s Andor series is set to become one of the most expensive television productions in history, with its two-season run surpassing even the budget of the theatrical finale of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. According to Deadline, reports indicate that season two alone will cost over $290.9 million—more than the $275 million budget of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. When both seasons are combined, the total production cost is estimated to exceed $645 million.
This staggering figure comes from an annual financial disclosure required in the U.K. for productions benefiting from local tax incentives, as cited by Forbes. However, the report only accounts for expenditures up to the end of 2023. Filming, which was paused during the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, resumed in January 2024 and concluded in February. Consequently, the final production cost will be higher once the full scope of filming and post-production expenses are included.
The production faced significant delays, with creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) stepping away from writing duties on May 1, 2023, in solidarity with the WGA strike. Later, Deadline exclusively reported on July 20, 2023, that the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike forced filming on season two to come to a temporary halt. These disruptions inevitably drove up costs, as delays often do in large-scale productions. Despite the mounting expenses, the series will benefit from a substantial $129 million tax rebate from the U.K. government, which helps offset some of the financial strain.
Planned from the outset as a two-season narrative, Andor serves as a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where audiences first met Diego Luna’s (Narcos: Mexico, La Máquina) Cassian Andor. Reflecting on the conclusion of the series, Gilroy told Deadline that the final episode will occur “three, four days before the beginning of Rogue One, and then our final scene has always been known, which will be walking him into the first scene of Rogue One.”