Disney has been busy filling in their newly announced Star Wars timeline with movies and streaming shows. On December 10, 2020, Kathleen Kennedy unleashed a torrent of Star Wars content during Disney Investors Day. Among the vast list was Star Wars: Andor, a new Disney Plus series revolving around Cassian Andor, a Rebel character introduced in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story back in 2016. Little is yet known about Star Wars: Andor, except that it takes place five years before Rogue One and follows the events of the Rebellion in its infancy. The only other information about it is that it is a spy thriller. Based on what fans know about Cassian Andor, the show might go down an unexpected dark path.
Cassian Andor was a soldier, a pilot, and a spy. As a child, he fought in the Clone Wars against the Republic. Later, he linked up with Alliance rebels against the Galactic Empire. In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Cassian Andor joined the fateful mission led by Jyn Erso to the Imperial Databank on planet Scarif where, after successfully beaming the Death Star plans to a Rebel command ship, the Empire fired a laser shot from the Death Star destroying the whole base and everyone on it, including Erso and Andor. Rogue One is a fixed date in Cassian Andor’s life. This is where he dies. Star Wars: Andor intends to show the five years leading up to the Battle of Scarif, to explore his involvement with the early Rebellion, and his morally dubious activities.
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It needs to be said that Cassian Andor is not a morally good character. The first time the audience meets him in Rogue One he murders a guy (alas poor Tivik). Later, after Jyn Erso discovers he was ordered to assassinate her father and used her to get to him, Andor defends his mission to Erso by saying that everything he did, especially the things he regrets, he did for the victory of the Rebellion. He is a character with a fanatically blind devotion to the rebel cause, an extremist.
Andor claims he must do what is necessary to win the war, but should that include unsanctioned murder (Tivik) or assassination (Galen Erso)? How would Princess Leia and Senator Bail Organa react to the justification “do whatever it takes to win?” Neither of them would endorse that type of conduct. Their moral code excludes murder and treachery. Is that not the code of the Rebel Alliance overall?
Andor, then, is a villain, he is neck-deep in guilt, and regardless of the rebels winning or losing the war, he would be tried as a war criminal. He knows that if they fail, all the blood on his hands becomes evidence of his many crimes. If they win, he could convince himself it was all worth it for the liberation of oppressed worlds. Thereby, he is devoted to the cause at all costs. Andor belongs with the likes of Saw Gerrera, a faction condemned by the Rebel Alliance for violence and terrorism.
Considering how Cassian Andor is portrayed in Rogue One, Star Wars: Andor has the range to go dark, to explore the gritty reality of fighting against the Galactic Empire. The show must remember, however, that the Rebellion is cast as the good guys in the Original Trilogy, it would be a deviation to have the early rebels conduct the war in an unfavorable manner. It is a fine line the showrunners set for themselves.
So, what kind of show will Star Wars: Andor be? Will it take a chance to explore the dark nature of Andor as he tries to survive the civil war and contribute to the rebellion? Will it downplay the violence? It was revealed that Andor’s partner K-2S0 will not have a role in the series, at least at its onset. Will there be a new character to serve as the opposition to his moral quandaries? The period Andor occurs matches exactly that of the Star Wars: Rebels TV show. Rebels followed the Lothal Rebellion and included Jedi’s. It is unlikely that Andor will incorporate the Force or any Jedi, except possibly Ahsoka Tano. There is a high probability that the show will feature characters like Hera Syndulla, Mon Mothma, and Bail Oragana, and even potentially another digitally face-swapped Princess Leia.
Star Wars: Andor might be exactly the type of series fans want to see: an espionage-laced spy-thriller with undercover missions, high profile assassinations, critical folio heists, and deadly street chases. Andor may also coincide with other Star Wars series like Star Wars: Rebels, which takes place at the same time as Andor, and have surprise cross overs. It could be a refreshing Star Wars story if it delves into the experiences of Andor in the rebellion, so the audience can witness how he made his decisions and whether he is justified in going to the extreme.
Star Wars: Andor is scheduled to be released in 2022.