It is totally fine that “Star Wars” series like “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Ahsoka” are aimed at deep-lore fans who collect the action figures, play the video games, watch the cartoons and know the difference between a Twi’lek and a Togruta.
But it is also OK to think that “Andor,” which returns to Disney+ on Tuesday at 9 p.m., stands apart. This show appeals to the kind of fan who also likes Lucas’s arty pre-“Star Wars” science fiction film “THX 1138” and has read the “Star Wars” novels written by esteemed fantasy writers like Alan Dean Foster and Elizabeth Hand. Created by the Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”), “Andor” foregrounds the political intrigue and guerrilla warfare elements that have always been a part of “Star Wars,” with a heightened level of storytelling sophistication and moody style.
Ostensibly a story about who put the “war” in “Star Wars,” “Andor” is a densely packed study of dictators and dissidents, set across multiple planets, with a colorful cast of characters who each have very different opinions about how this galaxy far, far away should be run. And because Season 1 aired in 2022, even devotees may need a reminder of who all these major players are and what they are up to. Here is a quick refresher ahead of the second and final season.
The original 1977 movie “Star Wars” (or “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” for the pedantic) begins with the rebellious diplomat Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) loading the blueprints for a planet-killing mega-weapon onto the droid R2-D2, who then carries those plans to the hermetic Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and the starry-eyed farm boy Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) — thus setting a whole saga in motion. Nearly 40 years later, in 2016, Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios released “Rogue One,” a prequel film about the courageous guerrilla warriors who stole those blueprints.
“Rogue One” was directed by Gareth Edwards from a screenplay originally by Chris Weitz. Gilroy was brought in after the initial shoot to write and direct additional scenes. Collectively, this team made a different kind of “Star Wars” movie, with less whiz-bang fantasy and more gritty military action, emphasizing the hard personal toll of a rebellion against a powerful authoritarian state.
“Andor” Season 1 begins five years before “Rogue One” and covers the origins of the Rebel Alliance that, by the time of the 1977 “Star Wars,” had already become organized enough to have a defined hierarchy, long-range strategies and fleets of fighter ships. In “Andor,” by contrast, the rebellion is more scattered, manifesting mostly on poorer planets, where the excessive demands of the Galactic Empire can push a frustrated populace to respond with violence.
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