Cassian Andor was one of the best characters introduced in the Rogue One spin-off movie. As a ruthless spy for the Rebel Alliance, his dedication to his mission was quite interesting to watch. He wants to end the imperial regime of oppression and persecution and will do everything possible to accomplish his mission. On this journey, he joins Jyn Erso on a plan to retrieve Scarif’s Death Star plans. However, at the end of this story, he must sacrifice his life to ensure that the Death Star plans to land in the hands of the Rebel Alliance.
Being a well-developed and beloved character, it wasn’t long before Disney and Lucasfilm announced a prequel series for Cassian Andor, set before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Fans are excited to see more of Cassian Andor while searching for answers about the character’s past.
Themes and plot
Andor is set roughly five years before Rogue One and will mostly follow Andor through his formative years as a Rebel Alliance spy. However, the show will also return to Andor’s childhood and show the fall of Andor’s home planet to Empire rule. The show is described as a story of refugees, with showrunner Tony Gilroy having more information on the subject of the show:
“This guy gave his life for the galaxy, didn’t he? I mean, he sacrificed himself consciously, soberly, without vanity or gratitude. Who do this ? That’s what this first season is about. It’s about him being really anti-revolution and cynical, and lost, and kind of a mess… His adopted home will become the basis for our entire first season, and we’re watching that place radicalize. Then we see another planet which is completely dismantled in a colonial fashion. The Empire is expanding rapidly. They annihilate anyone who stands in their way.
Moreover, the Empire’s oppression will be on full display in the show. Gilroy explained that the Empire will attack strategically, taking over trade planets and tightening their supply chains.
Characters
Cassian Andor will be the main character that we will follow throughout the series. We’ll learn more about his background and his formative years as we learn about the events that led him to become a rebel spy dedicated to his mission. Tony Gilroy also gave us a brief idea of what Andor’s character journey will look like:
“At the start of it all, he didn’t care about any this side. He’s a thief. He’s a ducker and a diver. He has a lot of anger about his childhood and the Empire, but he has no place to put it. He just doesn’t believe in anything at this point. He is attractive. Seductive in the sense that he manipulates people. He compromises and he changes his mind. He really is a perfect type of spy, warrior and killer. How do you get to this place – and then do you sacrifice yourself?
Essentially, the series is about taking an anti-revolution person and then slowly transforming them into the most passionate person who’s willing to sacrifice their life for the galaxy and its mission.
However, the show will also follow Genevieve O’Reilly’s character of rebel leader Mon Mothma. O’Reilly portrayed Mon Mothma as a young senator in 2005 Revenge of the Sith and reprized his role in A thug. In the original trilogy, Mon Mothma (played by Caroline Blakiston) played a key role in portraying the new Death Star’s weaknesses. In the show, the story of Mon Mothma will run parallel to the story of Andor, who will eventually become one of its most important agents.
Andor is being treated as a feature film with an episodic structure, with another season of the series already in some stage of development. Andor is set to air on Disney+, with the first 3 episodes of the series releasing together on September 21, 2022.
