Back in 2019 at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy formally announced a Rogue One spin-off show. This was a prequel series since, you know, and would focus on Diego Luna’s somewhat morally ambiguous Rebel Cassian Andor and his sidekick, a reprogrammed Imperial droid named K-2SO (performed and voiced by Alan Tudyk). Kennedy then brought both actors out on stage, and they addressed the audience of rabid Disney fans. Luna made a joke about the two sharing a “Telenovela moment” at some point in the series. But in the months since that announcement, we haven’t heard much about Tudyk’s involvement, which you think would be a major selling point for the new series. Back in December at the heavily Disney+-focused Disney Investor Day, behind-the-scenes footage was shown of the production, but there were no images of Tudyk in a funny mo-cap suit. Now, Tudyk has confirmed to us that everyone’s favorite sarcastic droid will not be returning for Andor … at least not yet.

While talking with editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub for his new Syfy series Resident Alien, Tudyk let it slip that he isn’t a part of Andor, at least initially, but could return later.

“They're shooting it right now, I'm not in it. But, if it stays on the air, stories keep getting told, I'll end up in there,” Tudyk told us.

He also acknowledged that he has been brought out for all of the corporate dog-and-pony shows regardless of his actual involvement: “I'm all these announcements for the show, and I had suggested at D23 when we announced in the show, that it be called K2 Fast K2 Furious: The Cassian Andor Series and, um, that's not happening, it's called Andor!”

One of his only concerns, as he gets holder, is performing in the elaborate mo-cap suit. “I do know this: I have to be on stilts for it, because the character is 7'1", and I'm not one of those guys that says, ‘somebody else do the motion capture, and I'll voice it later’. I'll have to do the motion capture, and I turn 50 in March,” Tudyk explained. “So I hope they get to it soon, because I'm not going to be on stilts in, like, five years. I'm not doing it!”

Still, he’s resolute that he will be on Andor at some point and that series creator (and Rogue One co-writer) Tony Gilroy has a plan for his character in mind, which is pretty exciting. “I'm going to be in the show. It's just that the story that Tony [Gilroy] is telling doesn't involve K-2SO until later on... I can't be too specific, but I can definitely say that I'm not going to be in the first season.” So there you have it: K-2SO will return but not yet.

What’s also interesting about Tudyk’s comments is that it seems to confirm that Andor will be an ongoing series, like The Mandalorian and not a “limited series” like the upcoming, highly anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi (which is set to return Ewan McGregor to the titular role). Kennedy referred to Andor as merely a “series” in December, leaving room open for continued speculation. Also, the fact that Gilroy will also seemingly be steering the ship beyond Season 1 is pretty exciting (he was supposed to direct a portion of the inaugural season but declined due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19). By all accounts it was Gilroy that helped steer Rogue One towards success during its particularly fraught post-production process.

Be sure to check back for more from Steve's chat with Tudyk, including more on Rogue One, Resident Alien and everything else.