Andor Makes The Star Wars Prequels Better In The Most Shocking Way
Nobody understands the Star Wars prequels better than Red Letter Media’s Mike Stoklassa, whose infamous review of The Phantom Menace kicked off his career and arguably gave us the world’s first great video essay. In an episode where he and Rich Evans were discussing Andor, Stoklassa reluctantly admitted that the nature of the show’s plot made him respect the prequels that much more.
The reason (and he’s completely right about this) is that while adult Star Wars fans are enjoying the bleak political intrigue of Andor, the broader appeal of the prequels created a new generation of fans.
The Problems With The Phantom Menace
To understand how Andor prompted this re-examination, we need to dive into what audiences hated the most about the prequels.
Obviously, The Phantom Menace had more problems than Tattooine had grains of sand, but a very common criticism is that the movie was too explicitly aimed at kids. This is evidenced by the extensive focus on an adolescent Anakin Skywalker as well as the abundant juvenile humor, including Jar-Jar Binks stepping in animal droppings and having an animal fart in his face (talk about feeling–and probably tasting–”the force’).
Andor Better Suited For Now
Now, the success of Andor has caused Stoklassa and many other fans to look at the prequels with a kind of grudging respect. After years of kid-friendly Star Wars entertainment, we now have a television show in a galaxy far, far away that has (as Stoklassa points out) the very adult appeals of a show like Game of Thrones.
This is complete with bitter betrayals and characters constantly spying on each other. Andor is a great show in the here and now, but if the prequels were more in the mold of this dark series, it might have doomed the franchise even worse than The Rise of Skywalker.
George Lucas Knew What He Was Doing
RLM speculated that George Lucas made the prequels into such a simplified tale because he wanted to have it both ways (a bit like Anakin trying to straddle the Light and Dark sides of The Force).
The franchise creator knew that he needed to dive into the background of major plots like how Emperor Palpatine rose to power, but Lucas knew on an instinctive level that he couldn’t afford to tell a super-depressing and violent tale.
The bizarre choice Lucas made was to have a serious rise-to-power story for Palpatine that also featured (as RLM points out) “a little kid, a cartoon rabbit, poopy jokes, and a wacky adventure.”
A Star Wars For Everyone
Now, one of the few upsides of Star Wars unleashing this crazy firehose of content in recent years is that there is truly a Star Wars story for every demographic.
There is no monolithic idea of what the franchise means anymore, so someone wanting a serious space opera with grim characters and high stakes can watch Andor; those who enjoy simpler tales, more straightforward characterization, or just the occasional dank meme can watch the prequels.
Andor’s Biggest Fans And Star Wars Prequels
In an ironic (at least, from a certain point of view) twist, many of Andor’s biggest fans are those who enjoyed the prequels at a young age. This retroactively justifies the huge gamble George Lucas made with his franchise: by appealing to younger audiences, he created a core new generation of fans who would grow up alongside Star Wars. Those who hated movies like The Phantom Menace, meanwhile, could either grow to appreciate those films or simply enjoy later content like Andor aimed squarely at adults.
The Right Path
It’s clear that the prequels could have been more like Andor if Lucas had really wanted to deliver such a depressing tale, but he knew this would spell disaster for the franchise.
Looking back, George Lucas ultimately emerged victorious, making his prequels without Hollywood interference and ultimately selling the franchise for over four billion dollars. He laughed all the way to the bank, and Disney has been stepping in bantha poodoo ever since.
