Biggest Budget in the Galaxy: Disney Names Its Costliest ‘Star Wars’ Series

Disney has revealed how much it spent on the second season of the Star Wars series Andor, and the number is much higher than many expected.

According to newly released financial filings from E&E Industries, the company behind the production in the United Kingdom, Disney put $60.5 million into season two in 2024 alone. When added to the cost of season one, the total spending on Andor reached $705.5 million.

Disney confirmed that the show stayed within budget, but it still ended up costing far more than any Star Wars movie.

Andor has been one of the few Star Wars projects that continued to win over viewers after Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012.

The series stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, a spy working for the Rebels before the events of the original trilogy. Many fans enjoyed the show’s grounded look and the use of physical sets instead of relying heavily on digital backdrops. Information about the show’s early production came from an interview with special effects supervisor Neal Scanlan, who told ComicBookMovie that around six weeks of prep work had been done before the U.K. entered lockdown in 2020.

The first season launched in 2022 and was a hit with audiences, earning positive reviews and strong scores online. The second season arrived this April after long delays caused by the writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023. Season two opened to another high audience rating, proving the series kept its quality, even though it took much longer to complete.

One reason the cost of Andor is known publicly is because productions filming in the U.K. can receive cash reimbursements of up to 25.5 percent of their spending. To qualify, at least 10 percent of the costs must be spent in the U.K. and the companies must file detailed financial statements.

These filings show everything from total spending to reimbursements, staff costs, and insurance claims. Andor qualified for this system, which is why so much information is available now.

The documents show, according to Forbes report, that E&E Industries had once been connected to Obi-Wan Kenobi, with $7.2 million spent before that project paused. Afterward, the company shifted to producing Andor, shooting the series at Pinewood Studios and in several U.K. locations.

Some spots doubled as alien settings, including a London metro station used for the Imperial Security Bureau and a northern seaside town that became the planet Niamos.

Production faced several delays due to the pandemic. During that time, the company received a $1.6 million grant from the U.K. government and also collected $2 million from an insurance claim. Even with these added funds, the overall production cost remained very high.

The filings also show that E&E Industries paid $85.5 million in wages, which is the largest payroll for any Disney project filmed in the U.K. in the last 15 years. Staff levels for the show peaked during 2023, with an average of 501 employees per month, not including contractors and freelancers.

After all reimbursements, tax credits, and grants, Disney’s net spending on both seasons of Andor came to around $552.4 million. This makes it the most expensive Star Wars show to date. And the cost may continue to rise once the final filings are released next year.

Disney has said that the company has invested heavily in U.K. productions in recent years. Since 2019, it has spent $4.8 billion across films and shows made in the country, supporting more than 32,000 jobs.

Data from the British Film Institute shows how important the film industry is to the U.K., with tens of thousands of jobs created across London and the rest of the country.

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