Riz Ahmed has spent his career delicately balancing prestige projects with blockbuster smashes. He’s excellent in Four Lions, Nightcrawler, and Sound of Metal, as well as making smash hits Rogue One and Venom that much better by his presence. Ahmed is currently voicing Ballister Boldheart in Netflix’s Nimona, but fans are currently theorizing he may soon be returning to Star Wars.
Andor season 2 is currently shooting in the United Kingdom, and Ahmed’s character Bodhi Rook could theoretically make an appearance. Practically every Rogue One character died during that movie’s climactic battle on Scarif, including Bodhi. Of course, Andor is a prequel, and the canon Star Wars timeline has Bodhi working with Saw Gerrera, who we know is returning.
Ahmed was asked by ComicBook if he’d be back for more Star Wars (or Marvel) action, but if he is, he’s playing his cards close to his chest:
“I’m always interested in working with great people on anything that feels like I could be helpful. At the same time, I also realize that being a team player means you come in and you do a bit, and it has a start and an end.”
Then again, if Ahmed really was in Andor, we may know about it by now. The second season has been shooting since November, and is scheduled to wrap up in August for a release in summer 2024. These 12 episodes will follow Diego Luna’s titular hero right up to the point we first met him in Rogue One, so seeing at least some of his old Rebellion buddies would be a nice touch.
It’s substantially less likely Ahmed will be back for Venom 3, though, as his character Riot/Carlton Drake was incinerated in a rocket explosion at the end of the first movie. Perhaps he could return via flashback, but we wouldn’t bet on it.