The second season of the critically acclaimed Star Wars series, Andor, is still in the midst of filming despite the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, and the series show-runner, Tony Gilroy, stepping away from producing duties due to the aforementioned strike. The Lucasfilm production has now been spotted filming at Heron’s Quays and Canada’s Place, two parts of Canary Wharf located in London.
Before we continue with news of the day, I’d just like to share that you can now support my work in two ways. Firstly it’s via my newly created Patreon page which has a single tier at this time simply to support my work. Secondly you can tip me with a simple one off payment on my Ko-Fi page or you can choose to support my work monthly on the platform. I’d truly appreciate it if you decided to support my work, but no pressure, I know things are pretty tough out here. Anyway, back to the reason you came here – the news!
Onlookers and commuters at the London location got a surprise today as the train station was bustling with Imperial Stormtroopers and Officers. Amongst the cast and crew, two (possibly three) notable stars of the Rogue One spin-off series were spotted amongst the hustle and bustle of the shoot taking place in the English capital. Herons Quays and Canada’s Place is a part of Canary Wharf, which is a location which is likely familiar to Star Wars fans, as Wharf was used to film scenes for the first season of Andor, the ISB headquarters, and scenes for the Rogue One film directed by Gareth Edwards.
I cannot be sure, but in the image above, there’s an actor who bares quite a resemblance physically to Kyle Soller, the actor who plays everybody’s favourite momma’s boy in Andor, Syril Karn. We know from the Andor season two season trailer shown to those in attendance at Star Wars Celebration 2023 that Karn is now a member of the Empire, as he was seen conversing with Imperial Officers multiple times. I also previously heard that Karn was a member of the Empire myself back in the Spring when the Andor season two production shot at the McLaren Technology Centre, I don’t know if Syril Karn was in a grey uniform, but the extras he filmed with were. It would make sense for Syril Karn to be present at a location previously used for the ISB headquarters, along with fellow ISB officers from season one spotted today. Karn had aspirations of working for the Empire and his actions in the season one finale, saving the ISB officer and the woman he’s clearly attracted to, Dedra Meero, might give him a possible leg up into working for the ISB or the Empire as a whole.
It’s no surprise that Andor has once again ventured to a parts of Canary Wharf, a location used in season one of the series, as the production has been frequently using locations from its debut season for its second and final. As I’d mentioned earlier, Canary Wharf was used as part of Imperial Security Bureau in the first season, most notably for scenes featuring Denise Gough’s Dedra Meero, who was spotted on set filming today.
At this time I do not know how long the production plans on shooting at the location. During season one, filming was spotted on a Sunday at Canary Wharf, a day considered far less busy than that of the working week, and come the Monday the shoot had already concluded. Very few images came out of the shoot for season one, so it seems the production is implementing the same strategy as last time around, so if you’re itching to get a glimpse at the season two shoot, you may want to venture to the location today as it’ll likely be gone come tomorrow.
In the image below you can see two known cast members, Denise Gough, who plays Dedra Meero in the series, alongside Anton Lesser, who portrays Major Partagaz. The duo were seen in Imperial Officer costumes alongside a Stormtrooper and a lone droid at Canada Place, which was draped in green-screens.
The second season of Andor began filming towards the tail end of November 2022 at Pinewood Studios, London. The production has ventured across various parts of the United Kingdom, including Wales, and even ventured to Valencia, Spain. Though the WGA strike has hampered multiple productions, Andor has continued to shoot despite the strike as the series creator, Tony Gilroy, concluded his writing duties on the second and final season mere days before the strike began, and stepped away from his production duties after being being accused of scabbing by a fellow WGA member.
Andor season two will release in August of 2024, and filming on the series will conclude in August of this year. Season one of the critically acclaimed series is currently streaming on Disney+.
Thank you for reading the article and if you enjoyed your read, or if you’re a regular reader of Bespin Bulletin then I kindly ask if you’d consider showing your support and appreciation by tipping me via my Ko-Fi page here, each tip is deeply appreciated or supporting my work via my newly launched Patreon page here. You can also listen to the latest episode of our podcast, BOB The Podcast, at the bottom of this page and on all good podcast services (new episodes release on Thursdays), where you can also sign up to a mailing list to receive and email each time I publish a new article and you if you’re not already doing so, follow me on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Hive, and Mastodon.
