Tony Gilroy is taking us back to the galaxy far, far away for Andor season 2. With season 1 being praised as one of the best things that Star Wars has delivered in years, Andor follows in the footsteps of (well, precedes) 2016’s Rogue One and yet again shows that fans might be a little tired of your traditional Skywalker Saga stories. Gilroy is doing things a little differently this time around, and with three episodes releasing weekly, each block covers one year as we lead directly into the events of Rogue One.
While Andor season 1 obviously included the return of Rogue One’s Diego Luna as the titular Cassian Andor, other alumni included the likes of Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera and Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma. Season 2 has already brought back Ben Mendelsohn as the villainous Orson Krennic, with Alan Tudyk due to reprise his role as K-2SO. Even though it seems unlikely we’ll be getting a cameo from Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso, others like Mads Mikkelsen’s Galen Erso are a major possibility. Just two episodes in to Andor season 2, it seems fans have already been given a surprising and tragic cameo of sorts.
Plo Koon is Gone but not Forgotten
Among Andor’s major players is Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael. Masquerading as a charismatic antiquities dealer on Coruscant, Rael is actually the rebel instigator known as Axis. Making the Easter eggs in your average Pixar movie look insignificant, his store is jam-packed with nods to everything from Gungan shields to forgotten video characters.
Alongside fans being shocked by the surprise inclusion of Indiana Jones’ Sankara Stones, eagle-eyed viewers spotted what looked like Plo Koon’s breathing mask. Harking back to the fallen Jedi, April 22’s "Sagrona Teema" once again reminded us of the fateful arc that befell Ahsoka Tano’s Jedi Master.
Damn no one bought Plo Koon’s mask :( pic.twitter.com/2ZA0TBTrx5
— Pente Patrol Star Wars (@PPStarWars) April 23, 2025
Andor fans have been cheering the appearance of Plo Koon’s breathing mask. The Kel Dor male hailed from the planet of Dorin and required his mask to breathe in oxygen-rich atmospheres. He was last seen wearing it in the aftermath of the Battle of Cato Neimoidia, where the clone troopers shot him down when enacting Order 66. Skeptics suggest that it could belong to another Kel Dor, but with Plo being the only known active Jedi of that species around the time of the Clone Wars, it’s likely that it’s him. Also, with Darth Maul once referring to Plo as “one of the greatest Jedi warriors of his time,” it makes sense that Luthen would want to hold onto this relic of the war.
This nod to Plo Koon has led to some wild theories that he could return. It makes sense that Emperor Palpatine and the clones couldn’t take out all 10,000 Jedi thought to be alive at the time of Order 66, with recent additions like Gungi to Grogu helping bolster their ranks. Mark Sumerak’s The Secrets of the Clone Troopers finally confirmed that around 200 survived Order 66, so expect a few more to come out of the woodwork.
Although we should consider him dead, Revenge of the Sith nearly wasn’t the end of the road for Plo, thanks to him almost making a return in The Mandalorian season 2 finale. To help conceal the big reveal that Luke Skywalker was coming to rescue Grogu from the Dark Troopers, Dave Filoni used Plo Koon as a stand-in. Discussing the secret during Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, Filno explained:
“It’s fairly well known by deep core fans that Plo Koon is my favorite Jedi. And a lot of people—if Plo Koon from the script got out—would assume, ‘Well, oh, of course, because Dave loves Plo Koon.’ So, there’s these layers of intrigue we try to weave.”
Conspiracy theorists still hold onto the theory that Plo survived, with some suggesting he somehow survived his fiery crash and ran off to live a life of obscurity with the Baran Do Sages. It’s true that the ancient order of Force-sensitive Kel Dor survived the Jedi purge in Legends canon, but that doesn’t get away from the fact we seemingly saw Plo go up in flames, AND the fact he’d need the mask currently in Luthen’s possession to survive. Even though it’s not as popular as the idea that Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu could return one day, supporters noted that Plo’s voice wasn’t included in the roster of ‘dead’ Jedi that spoke to Rey (Daisy Ridley) at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
Although the fact that we heard Mace Windu seemingly puts an end to his return, Ridley leading a new trilogy set after Episode IX could lend credence to everyone’s favorite Kel Dor making a fanciful homecoming to the franchise. It’s more likely that Andor is just honoring Plo Kloon and reminding us of the importance of the prequel trilogy, but let’s be honest, stranger things have happened in Star Wars.