Update: lol. lmao, even. Well, anyway… I think my point still stands. It’s not a great trailer and it’s arrived way too late.
We are two months away from the second season premiere of Andor, the only Star Wars property to be universally beloved since Disney acquired the brand. We loved it. And despite the excitement from devoted fans and eager critics alike, anticipating another leap in quality, no official trailer or teaser trailer has been released.
Sure, short snippets have been released as part of a larger Disney Plus marketing push, some inspiring still in an inclusive EW feature, but alas, no trailer. That’s absolutely insane, given how close the release is—especially since a trailer already exists! It exists—and has for almost two full years! Lucasfilm showed a trailer at Celebration Europe in London in May of 2023. Two thousand and twenty-three! Albeit for paying attendees of said convention, which I guess is fair (but still dumb).
It won’t let me direct message you for some reason so here’s just the full video and hopefully you can download it before Disney takes it down pic.twitter.com/hITtV1u6Zh
— z̷̗̯͙̘̏̇͑͆̕͝ebulon ️ (@zebulonbfrigate) May 8, 2023
This trailer already garnered quite a bit of attention and critical acclaim; it’s cam rip is still shared widely on social media with no takedowns. It’s out there for anyone to see. You can watch it right now if you know about it. People are hyped for more Andor! By now, the effects wizards at ILM will probably have cooked up something even bigger to show off on top of this character-heavy footage.
So why is it kept under wraps? Why hasn’t a new trailer been released yet? The second season is the culmination of Cassian’s story over the span of almost a decade of storytelling. He has become a new major Star Wars character. Considering the general demise of the Sequel Trilogy and the fate of the underappreciated Solo spin-off, Rogue One remains a fan favorite across the board. Yet, incredibly, Lucasfilm refuses to capitalize on that goodwill.
The more important question remains: At which point does that marketing strategy become a detriment to the success of your show? Especially when the Star Wars brand has been in active decline for many years. Lucasfilm wants to make attendees—many flying in from overseas—feel special, but where do you draw the line? It just doesn’t make sense.
Lucasfilm’s biggest flop so far, The Acolyte, suffered the same fate. There was a trailer shown at Celebration, and nearly a year later, the same trailer was released in HD with little to no changes to a wider audience. Its eventual cancellation felt almost inevitable.
In June, Lucasfilm’s latest TV show ACOLYTE is supposed to premiere. The story is set in The High Republic era, a time period from the expanded books & comics universe, taking place 100 years before the controversial Episode I. No trailer or poster has officially been released.
— reeft (@reeft) March 16, 2024
Only a decade ago, new Star Wars trailers were major pop culture events. Since the franchise shifted to Christmas releases, trailers have typically dropped a year in advance. The median gap—252 days, I counted—allowed time to inform audiences, set expectations, and build hype among fans.
Shorter marketing windows began with Solo‘s troubled production. While movies weren’t affected, TV shows have been a different story. So I wanted to compare—as sonspiracy theories are mounting that Andor is being intentionally tanked—when a final marketing push for these shows usually starts, when to expect the trailer for the second season of Andor, and what it might tell us about the inner workings at Lucasfilm.
Here’s a comprehensive list showing the official release dates for teaser trailers and full trailers of Star Wars movies under Disney.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
Teaser Release Date: November 28, 2014
Trailer Release Date: October 20, 2015
Official Release Date: December 18, 2015
Teaser to Release: 385 days
Trailer to Release: 59 days
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Teaser Release Date: April 7, 2016
Trailer Release Date: August 12, 2016
Official Release Date: December 16, 2016
Teaser to Release: 253 days
Trailer to Release: 126 days
Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
Teaser Release Date: April 14, 2017
Trailer Release Date: October 10, 2017
Official Release Date: December 15, 2017
Teaser to Release: 245 days
Trailer to Release: 66 days
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Teaser Release Date: February 5, 2018
Trailer Release Date: April 9, 2018
Official Release Date: May 25, 2018
Teaser to Release: 109 days
Trailer to Release: 46 days
Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker
Teaser Release Date: April 12, 2019
Trailer Release Date: October 22, 2019
Official Release Date: December 20, 2019
Teaser to Release: 252 days
Trailer to Release: 59 days
Median Teaser to Release: 252 days
Median Trailer to Release: 59 days
With tv shows, the production timeline is different of course, there are lot of different factors at play, not even factoring in the effects of the pandemic and so on. But still, let’s take a look.
The Mandalorian – Season One
Trailer Release Date: August 24, 2019
Official Release Date: November 12, 2019
Trailer to Release: 80 days
The Mandalorian – Season Two
Trailer Release Date: September 15, 2020
Official Release Date: October 30, 2020
Trailer to Release: 45 days
The Mandalorian – Season Three
Trailer Release Date: January 17, 2023
Official Release Date: March 1, 202
Trailer to Release: 58 days
The Book of Boba Fett
Trailer Release Date: November 1, 2021
Official Release Date: December 29, 2021
Trailer to Release: 43 days
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Teaser Release Date: March 9, 2022
Trailer Release Date: May 4, 2022
Official Release Date: May 27, 2022
Teaser to Release: 79 days
Trailer to Release: 23 days
Ahsoka – Season One
Teaser Release Date: April 7, 2023
Trailer Release Date: July 11, 2023
Official Release Date: August 22, 2023
Teaser to Release: 137 days
Trailer to Release: 42 days
The Acolyte
Teaser Release Date: March 19, 2024
Trailer Release Date: May 4, 2024
Official Release Date: June 4, 2024
Teaser to Release: 78 days
Trailer to Release: 31 days
Skeleton Crew
Teaser Release Date: August 10, 2024
Trailer Release Date: Novembe 1, 2024
Official Release Date: December 2, 2024
Teaser to Release: 114 days
Trailer to Release: 31 days
Andor – Season One
Teaser Release Date: May 26, 2022
Trailer Release Date: August 1, 2022
Official Release Date: September 21, 2022
Teaser to Release: 118 days
Trailer to Release: 51 days
Andor – Season Two
Celebration Trailer: April 8, 2023
Trailer Release Date: February 24, 2025 (Updated)
Official Release Date: April 22, 2025
Trailer to Release: 57 days (Updated)
Median Teaser to Release: 114 days
Median Trailer to Release: 43 days
So if we go by the median time for a trailer, the full trailer for the second season of Andor should be released some time around March 10, 2025. However, it seems likely that Lucasfilm now seems to follow a set 31-day window now as seen by the examples of The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, which would point to March 22, 2025. So almost another whole month from now, which just makes me sad; not just because I love the show but because I want Star Wars to feel big again!
As mentioned above, some Andor season 2 impressions have already been released, so maybe we’re only getting a full trailer and that’s it, no teasers. That would mark a shift back to the original Mandoverse marketing timeline. Which would suck. (Ironically, the upcoming film also offered a sneak peak last year but since the movie is more than a year out, a proper teaser trailer during 2025 Celebration Japan is to be expected.)
Even now, the hype for the show is palpable within my bubble of Star Wars and film twitter sickos. But it could—no, it should—be bigger. Andor is one of the best shows of the past few years and has clearly benefited from amazing word of mouth. People love it. It was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series and could be a hopeful contender again this year, given its spring release. So what gives?
It’s shameful that Disney/Lucasfilm aren’t pushing Andor more, especially given the shows topical themes and clear antifascist stance. And in the context of the news that The Mandalorian will not be moving forward with a fourth season, its movie adaptation and a second season of Ahsoka building toward a larger Mandalorian-verse movie to top it all off, with nothing else on the horizon, this feels like Disney abandoning live-action Star Wars series altogether. That might sound like great news for people like me, who have been screaming from the rooftops for the franchise to return to the big screen. It just absolutely sucks that this comes at the expense of the most fiery spark this franchise has felt in decades.