5 burning questions before Andor begins

Here's what we think we know—and what can't wait to find out—about the latest Disney Plus Star Wars series

By Cindy White | September 15, 2022 | 12:00pm

TV Features Cassian

Diego Luna as Cassian Andor Screenshot: Lucasfilm

It’s rare for Star Wars fans to reach a consensus these days, but if there’s one thing the majority seems to agree on it’s that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is one of the best films of the franchise’s modern era. It follows, then, that it would only be a matter of time before Lucasfilm found a way to give us more. With the release of a series centered around one of the film’s standout characters, rebel spy Cassian Andor, that’s exactly what they’ve done.

Andor will premiere on Disney+ on Sept. 21, with the first three episodes dropping all at once. The remaining nine will roll out each succeeding Wednesday. Disney has confirmed that there will be two seasons of the series, for a total of 24 episodes. So we might have to wait until season two for some of the anticipated backstories to be filled in. Even if we already know how the story ends for Cassian, there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding his past and how it shaped him as a character. Here are a few of the questions we’re pondering before the series kicks off.

1. How much of Cassian’s backstory will we see?

One of the things that isn’t being kept under wraps is the show’s timeline. Season one is set five years before we meet Cassian Andor in Rogue One. It will take place over the course of about a year, while season two will cover the rest of the events leading into the movie. If you’ve seen Rogue One, you know that this series pretty much had to be a prequel. If you haven’t, well, you probably should before watching Andor.But what about Cassian’s personal history? What about his childhood? Will we see what caused him to become a rebel at the age of six? There are scenes in the trailer that suggest glimpses of a young Cassian as a scavenger, or a thief, on an Outer-Rim planet (his homeworld was previously identified as Fest in some of the Rogue One promotional materials, but that may not be where this story starts). Perhaps we’ll see his troubled upbringing, marked by loss and hardship. But will the answers be satisfying for fans, who have been speculating about the significance of his words since the film came out? Are some mysteries better left unknown? We don’t care, we just really want the show to fulfill its promise of showing us how a revolutionary is born.

2. What is Cassian’s connection to the Empire in the beginning and what turns him against them?

We can expect the series to track Cassian’s journey from an ordinary citizen on the wrong side of the law to a fiercely loyal and dedicated agent of the rebellion, but what caused him to take up arms against the Empire? At this point in history, the Emperor is exerting authoritarian control throughout the remains of the former Republic. There are pockets of dissent here and there, though they haven’t organized into any kind of formal alliance yet, and most people are just trying to go about their daily lives without hassle. Cassian Andor is one of those people, until he isn’t. We know that something causes him to go on the run from the Empire, and that he’ll eventually be recruited to the movement by Stellan Skarsgård’s character Luthen Rael, but Cassian’s initial motivations for joining up aren’t yet known. Is it just to escape from his Imperial pursuers? Is there something special about him that has the Empire hunting him down? At some point he’s destined to change direction and instead of running from the Empire, start running toward revolution. We’re looking forward to that arc, even if we don’t know all the details of his run-ins with the bad guys just yet.

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3. When will Cassian meet up with characters we know from Rogue One, such as Saw Gerrera and K-2SO?

The trailer for Andor included scenes of Forest Whitaker returning as Saw Gerrera, the leader of a rebel splinter group known as the Partisans. He had some memorable scenes in Rogue One, but the character’s history in the Star Wars universe actually goes back to the animated series The Clone Wars. It’s not clear what part he’ll play in the new series or how it will connect to his greater arc. We only saw him interacting with Jyn Erso in the film, so the exact nature of his relationship to Cassian—friendly, hostile, or more complicated—has yet to be seen. He seems to be the first one willing to call the conflict they are engaged in a war.But he’s not the only Rogue One character we’re looking forward to meeting again for the first time. Some of the funniest moments in that movie came courtesy of reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk), who acts as Cassian’s sidekick for most of the film. We know that these two will have to partner up by the end of the series. And thanks to an external source, we also know how it happens. Their first encounter was depicted in a one-shot comic book that’s officially recognized canon. Still, it would be fun to see their meet cute play out in live action. Tudyk is not currently listed among the cast for the first season of Andor, but we’ll be keeping an eye out for any references or signs he and Kaytoo might pop up in the future.

4. How much will we see inside the Empire’s operations at the height of its power?

At this moment in history the Empire is triumphant and emboldened. The Senate seems to still be in place, at least ceremonially, but likely no longer as a functioning body. Mon Mothma, who will one day lead the rebellion, still believes she can affect change from the inside as a senator. We’ll see how long that lasts. Diplomacy can only get you so far, and it’s basically pointless within a fascist regime that harshly suppresses any form of dissent. Will we see exactly how that suppression works, not from the distant bridge of a Star Destroyer but on the ground, where the ordinary citizens live? We’ve seen enough dogfights in space (though by the looks of the trailer we’re going to be getting more), but what we’re excited about is the potential for taking a closer look at the war on the ground, a battle of espionage, subterfuge, and infiltration. That was one of the best elements of Rogue One, and hopefully it will continue here.

5. How will the show address class differences in the Star Wars universe?

Star Wars has always been inherently political. It’s not a subtle allegory. The tradition has been carried on and updated in more recent Star Wars content, which often plays with notions of class and status against a sci-fi backdrop. There is a hierarchy in the Galactic Empire, and only those aligned with its goals, or willing to overlook its oppression (which amounts to the same thing), are permitted to rise to the top of society. The trailers we’ve seen for the show so far highlight the stark difference between the pristine, well-appointed rooms of the world inhabited by Mon Mothma and the gritty streets of the villages where the seeds of revolution are starting to grow. Will we see the characters navigate the gap between the upper and lower echelons? When you add a layer of economic insecurity to the story the battle between good and evil becomes more complicated. Are those complexities baked into the show? It’s a nice corollary to the main theme of Andor’s story, which asks how much of yourself you can give to a cause without losing your identity as an individual.