Andor Season 2 VFX Supervisor reveals some exciting secrets of the series

Andor Season 2 is already breaking new ground in terms of visual and thematic innovation for a Star Wars series. Every episode builds to Rogue One, exposing more than just political tension or character development. It exposes the extraordinary craft behind building a galaxy where rebellion feels grounded, immersive, and painfully human.

In a recent interview, VFX Supervisor Mohen Leo unveiled how the team orchestrated this complexity through practical builds, subtle CGI, and a design philosophy that places emotion at the center of every frame.

From the rebirth of iconic droids to the creation of sprawling alien landscapes, the second season reveals a production at the height of its power. Leo’s insights confirm what fans have long sensed: nothing in Andor happens by accident.

Whether planting fields six months in advance or constructing full-scale starships, every choice supports the narrative weight of the show. In a media ecosystem that often leans on shortcuts and digital overwhelm, Andor stands alone for its refusal to compromise its vision.

Andor Season 2: The rebellion is in motion and it's more grounded than ever

Andor Season 2 is structured across four years, with every three episodes representing one full year closer to the moment Cassian enters Rogue One. That storytelling rhythm isn't just clever pacing. It shaped how every set was built, how every ship was designed, and how the visual identity of the season evolved. Each narrative arc reflects a shift in the rebellion's scale, and that growth needed to be visible not only through dialogue or plot but through the texture of the world itself.

Mohen Leo made it clear that this was not a season of shortcuts.

“We didn’t leverage all that much from Season 1,” he explained. “It’s almost all new locations, ships, and planets.”

That meant creating everything from scratch. But the returning crew gave the production a head start. With most of the key VFX team back in place, including many who had worked directly on Rogue One, there was already creative shorthand. That familiarity made it possible to take risks early, and to think bigger without the friction of starting over.

What sets Andor apart is its insistence on physicality. Coruscant is not a digital illusion. The busy city is pieced together from real locations in London and Spain, captured on camera and extended digitally only where necessary.

Grain fields are grown, not rendered. Ships exist in hangars, with real actors climbing into cockpits. Visual effects are used sparingly but precisely, only to enhance what the camera cannot fully capture. The result is a season that feels more like a political thriller filmed on Earth than a distant sci-fi fantasy, and yet never loses its place in the galaxy far, far away.

What’s real, what’s digital, and why it matters

One of the core reasons Andor Season 2 feels so immersive is its seamless integration of real-world environments with digital enhancements. Unlike many other projects in the franchise that rely heavily on digital backdrops or LED volume technology, this series doubles down on tangible texture.

The city-planet of Coruscant, for instance, is no longer just a sleek sprawl of Senate chambers and Jedi temples. Instead, it becomes a place where ordinary citizens live, work, ride public transport, and navigate the growing shadow of the Empire.

According to Mohen Leo, the decision to portray Coruscant through this grounded lens wasn’t just visual. It was philosophical. Real cityscapes in London and Spain were transformed into everyday corners of the capital, and the VFX team carefully layered digital additions to flesh out its vastness.

This expanded view of Coruscant challenges the traditional image of Star Wars metropolises. It suggests that rebellions don't only ignite in political halls or military bases. They begin in apartments, alleyways, and crowded transit stations.

The same attention to grounded realism extended to the planet Mina-Rau, introduced early in the season. The production team actually planted a vast field of rye on a farm in Oxfordshire six months before filming. That level of preparation allowed the actors to move through an organic, fully tactile landscape.

Explosions were crafted using physical dirt and smoke effects, with fire added later in post-production to avoid torching the entire set. It’s a small decision that makes a massive difference on screen. When Cassian runs through swaying stalks of grain under enemy fire, nothing feels artificial. Every movement registers as real.

This meticulous blend of practical and digital work also reduces what Leo calls the "digital fatigue" common in genre TV. By anchoring each scene in something physically present, the show maintains emotional clarity even in its most chaotic sequences. The VFX don’t overwhelm or distract. They amplify what’s already there, reinforcing the tension and scale without stealing the spotlight.

Clues, cameos, and covert operations: what VFX reveals about the story

Beyond technical marvels and stunning locations, Andor Season 2 uses its visual effects to tease deeper narrative threads and fill crucial gaps between the series and Rogue One.

One of the most exciting elements confirmed by Mohen Leo is the origin story of K-2SO. Fans of the film will finally witness how Cassian Andor reprograms the towering Imperial security droid that eventually becomes his closest ally. According to Leo, despite the years that passed between productions, the moment Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk reunited on set, the same chemistry returned effortlessly. The challenge for the VFX team was to capture every subtlety of Tudyk’s performance and embed it seamlessly into the droid’s physical presence.

B2EMO, the fan-favorite salvage droid from season one, also makes a return. Just like before, he was brought to life entirely through practical creature effects. No CGI tweaks were needed. The creature department delivered such a convincing performance that visual effects simply stepped back. It's another example of how Andor Season 2 treats technology not as a crutch but as a supporting act to the craftsmanship of physical performance and design.

And that philosophy applies even to the alien life scattered throughout the galaxy. Leo revealed that the season includes a variety of new creatures, many of which contain subtle callbacks to Rogue One. These references are never flashy or gratuitous. Instead, they enrich the continuity between the projects and reward observant fans without pulling them out of the moment.

One of the most striking new additions to the season’s lore is a prototype TIE fighter introduced in the first episode. Cassian attempts to steal this experimental ship as part of a high-stakes mission that sets the tone for the season.

It was designed in close collaboration between the VFX and art departments and built as a full-scale model for use on set. According to Leo, scenes inside the hangar were filmed entirely on camera, with actors physically entering and interacting with the ship. Only once the prototype takes off does CGI take over, blending seamlessly with the practical shots. The result is a sequence that feels grounded, kinetic, and urgent, despite its high-tech spectacle.

Details like these aren’t just visually impressive. They offer clues about the growing capabilities of the rebellion and hint at the Empire’s own escalating paranoia. Every new piece of tech, every callback to Rogue One, and every visual design choice works in tandem to push the story forward. The visual effects don’t just reveal what’s happening. They foreshadow what’s coming.

VFX with a purpose: storytelling through design

It would be easy for Andor Season 2 to lean into spectacle for its own sake, especially given the vast scope of the galaxy it’s portraying. But the show continues to distinguish itself by using visual effects as tools of storytelling, not distractions.

From the composition of shots to the way technology is framed, everything serves a narrative purpose. This season, even the user interfaces on Imperial monitors were crafted with intention.

Designed once again by Blind, the same studio behind the graphics in Rogue One, these elements are more than aesthetic dressing. In several scenes in Andor Season 2, they deliver real-time data that informs the characters’ decisions, anchoring even background screens to the unfolding tension.

Perhaps the most symbolically loaded visual thread running through the season is the slow construction of the Death Star. While Rogue One famously shows the moment the weapon is activated for the first time, Andor Season 2 lives in the quiet before that storm.

According to Mohen Leo, the visual team had to portray the battle station as almost finished, but not quite. That meant designing incomplete structures, half-lit corridors, and scaffolded edges that visually imply menace still in the making. It’s a subtle but powerful reminder that terror is already underway, just not yet fully operational.

This idea of unfinished power ripples through the show’s visual language. Characters operate in liminal spaces. Cities are in flux. Ships are prototypes. Rebellion is being built one bolt at a time. And the VFX reflect that tension between what is and what’s coming.

Even in moments of action, the chaos feels personal. Cassian isn’t just dodging blaster fire. He’s navigating the weight of choices that shape an entire future. The effects heighten this experience, but never overpower it.

Another key to this visual balance lies in the collaboration between departments. Leo emphasized how closely the VFX team worked with production designer Luke Hull and director of photography Adriano Goldman to ensure a unified vision.

From lighting to color grading to camera movement, each shot is calibrated so that visual effects never feel tacked on. They emerge organically, like shadows cast by something real.

In that sense, Andor Season 2 isn’t interested in flashy reveals or show-stopping digital gimmicks. It’s interested in memory, history, and meaning. Its VFX are precise instruments, designed to deepen rather than dazzle.

A rebellion forged in fire, pixels, and precision

At its core, Andor Season 2 isn’t about special effects. It’s about what those effects are fighting for. Every digital explosion, every alien skyline, every looming shadow of the Death Star exists to serve something greater than spectacle. They exist to tell the story of resistance in its rawest, most human form.

In this world, rebellion is not a destiny but a decision, shaped by individuals navigating impossible odds.

Mohen Leo and his team delivered more than just impressive visuals. They delivered context. They made sure that every planet felt inhabited, every ship had history, and every frame reflected the moral weight of the choices unfolding on screen. That kind of precision takes more than software. It takes discipline, trust, and an unwavering commitment to storytelling.

With the same production schedule as Season 1 but exponentially more ambition, the results speak for themselves.

Andor Season 2 proves that a galaxy far, far away doesn’t need to be saturated in spectacle to feel epic. It needs to be honest, layered, and real. And thanks to its visual architects, it is.