Like the rest of the leading characters in Rogue One, which slots nicely between Solo and A New Hope when going through the Star Wars movies in order, Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic didn’t make it out alive. However, just because we know his story ends with him being killed by the weapon he spent his Imperial career obsessed with doesn’t mean there aren’t more stories to tell involving him. Case in point, Mendelsohn is reprising Krennic for Andor Season 2, which will finally debut on the 2025 TV schedule next April, and I’m delighted to hear from the actor who his character will be clashing with at this point in the Star Wars timeline.
It turns out Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin wasn’t the only high-ranking Imperial officer with whom Orson Krennic butted heads. In an interview with Empire, Mendesohn shared that the gloriously-caped baddie will encounter resistance from Denise Gough’s Dedra Meero, who was one of the main antagonists in Andor Season 1. Mendelsohn started off by saying:
If they didn’t see eye to eye, to me, it’s cute. Dedra versus Krennic? I think it’s a bit of a mismatch. They’re all underlings to Krennic.
With Andor Season 1 taking place five years before Rogue One, and Season 2 (which finished filming in February) set to cover the remaining four-year gap, we’re looking in on Orson Krennic when he was still supervising the construction of the first Death Star. In fact, Season 1’s ending showed that the machinery made at the Narkina 5 prison complex was being assembled on the giant space station’s firing dish. Krennic is still high up in the Imperial food chain at this point, but per Ben Mendelsohn, he and Dedra Meero will have plenty of differences in opinion, even though everyone in the Empire is collectively working towards the same goal. The actor continued:
They’re all going in one direction. The Empire, if you speak your mind, there are differences of opinion.
Ben Mendelsohn refused to share if Tarkin will also be present in Andor Season 2, but frankly, I’m ok not knowing one way or the other right now. I’m just looking forward to seeing exactly how Krennic and Dedra will clash. Is she one of the Imperials who thinks the Empire should divert resources from the Death Star to another project, much like how Grand Admiral Thrawn wanted his TIE Defender program prioritized in Star Wars Rebels? Or is Dedra pro-Death Star, but doesn’t agree with how Krennic is handling the operation?
Since Dedra Meero is nowhere to be seen in Rogue One, either she’s moved on to other things or the future doesn’t bode well for her in this next and final batch of Andor episodes. If she doesn’t end up making it out of this show alive, perhaps Orson Krennic will end up being responsible for her demise, be it directly or indirectly. We’ll find out what’s in store for these two characters when Andor Season 2 premieres April 22 to Disney+ subscription holders on the slate of upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
