Andor

With the Star Wars franchise in seemingly full growth mode when it comes to the Disney+ side of things (at least on the television side), we’ve been treated to a whole bunch of new stories in this world that fill in important timelines. One of those was Andor which was released on the streamer in the fall of 2022. It was a hit and offered a different look into this universe that fans really hadn’t seen up until now. 

DIEGO LUNA IS CASSIAN ANDOR

The show stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor who reprises his role from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. That movie saw him and Felicity Jones’s Jyn Erso lead the attack on Scarif that ultimately saw them get the plans for the Death Star. That movie set the chess pieces in place for A New Hope and Andor goes back one step before, seeing how the titular character ended up with the Rebels, to begin with. 

In general, Andor is unlike many other Star Wars productions in a few key areas. For starters, the Jedi and Sith are completely out of the mix in this one. The show is focused almost solely on the “regular” folk who occupy the Galaxy and have seen their rights and basic freedoms infringed on time and time again by the Empire.

ANDOR INTRODUCES OTHER STAR WARS CHARACTERS

In addition to Diego Luna as Andor, the show also introduces a couple of key figures in this world while also bringing back a few familiar faces. For starters, Stellan Skarsgard is Luthen Rael, a key part of the Rebel Alliance, and maybe the most important cog in the disruptive machine that’s seeking to claw back pieces the Empire has taken. Plus, Genevieve O’Reilly returns to the role of Mon Mothma, a role she also had in Rogue One. The series walks us back into how she became such an important piece in the universe.

On the Imperial side of things, Kyle Soller plays Syril Karn and Denise Gough plays Dedra Meero. Both of them are caught up in the machinations of Andor’s break towards fully “bad” and spend most of the series on the hunt for our hero. They offer a glimpse into the bureaucracy and rigidness of the Imperial side of things, a look we haven’t seen all that much in previous Star Wars iterations.

THE SERIES WAS A HIT WITH FANS AND CRITICS

Andor was a hit with both critics and fans, bringing together the almost perfect mix of Star Wars history and world-building while also offering a story that is pretty relatable for, well, almost anyone who doesn’t love when governments get too much power. 

Andor Season 2 is in the works for Disney+ and could be on the way in the coming years.