Star Wars just released a new project that acts as a perfect follow-up to Andor , thanks to its themes, story, and direct connections made to Star Wars canon. Andor Season 1 was widely regarded as one of the best Star Wars projects ever made, and Season 2 did not take any steps back when it was released earlier in 2025. However, one particular episode of a new animated series seemingly fits perfectly alongside Andor, even though it explores different characters and locations.
Fans recently got the chance to experience nine new short films with the release of Star Wars: Visions Season 3 on Disney+, and one of those installments, titled "The Smuggler," acted as a perfect continuation of Andor without actually connecting to that particular project. Despite not being canon, "The Smuggler" showcased a lot of the same elements as Andor, and, truly, it could be hard to tell the two projects apart if someone were talking about them on a surface level.
Star Wars itself even acknowledged how similar "The Smuggler" is to Andor. For instance, on the franchise's official website, it recommended that fans of Andor should consider viewing "The Smuggler." According to Star Wars, both titled include "political intrigue, Imperial machinations," and "the early formation of the Rebellion:"
"Political intrigue. Imperial machinations. The early formation of the Rebellion. We could be talking about 'Andor' or 'The Smuggler'! The latter introduces characters that could seamlessly intersect with Cassian Andor and his crew, plus a nail-biting extraction plan and a very familiar looking planet to make the connections even stronger."
Specifically, Andor handled the Empire differently than any other Star Wars project in history. The Empire has always been the "bad guys," but, at the same time, a lot of fans have still considered the Empire to be interesting or intriguing, even though they have still rooted for the Rebellion. Andor took a completely different approach. It made the Empire seem genuinely horrifying and showcased the Empire on a gritty level, highlighting just how evil the regime was in the galaxy far, far away.
Andor also gave fans an idea of just how hard life became for ordinary citizens of the galaxy once the Empire took over. Where the Skywalker Saga was so focused on powerful figures like Luke Skywalker (a Jedi) or Leia (a royal princess), Andor made viewers realize that normal people were deeply oppressed by the Empire and entirely at its mercy (instead of showcasing characters like Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine).
On the flip side, it also showed the power of rebellion. Instead of centering around a story of family and how a few major names in the galaxy contributed to the defeat of the Empire, Andor featured the heartbeat of the Rebel Alliance, focusing on the sacrifices that many people made for the Rebellion to find its footing and grow into what it became in the original trilogy.
"The Smuggler" from Star Wars: Visions Season 3 included everything that Andor did, just on a smaller scale. The episode also showcased the political power and the grip the Empire had over the galaxies, presenting it as an unstoppable force that made everyone bend to its will.
The opening scene alone proved that one of the episode's protagonists was directly in the crosshairs of the Empire, and essentially had nowhere safe to turn, despite being a literal prince. The episode also featured a detailed action sequence where the prince was smuggled off a world, which felt like a mission that would have taken place in Andor.
Although Visions is not a part of Star Wars canon, "The Smuggler" even featured an iconic Star Wars location in Yavin IV, which tied the story up with a nice bow and allowed viewers to realize how important the Rebellion was. Essentially, the ending proved that the trio of protagonists felt it was important enough to put their lives in grave danger just so they could join the Rebellion and play a role in taking down the Empire.
How Will Andor Continue to Influence the Future of Star Wars?
Because Andor was so successful, it is almost a guarantee that Disney and Lucasfilm will try to replicate it in some way in the future. Most likely, a lot of future projects will try to capture the same feel as Andor, but it will be extremely hard for them to be successful.
In a way, Andor was a perfect storm because of the creative team behind it and the way real fans feel about the world today. However, "The Smuggler" was able to take elements of Andor and create an entirely original story, so it proved that Star Wars can still use Andor as a bit of a road map for future movies or Disney+ shows.
The rise of the Empire has been explored in multiple projects now, but there is still a lot of story to tell in other time periods of the galaxy. The Empire is not the first regime to influence the galaxy, and definitely won't be the last.
However, it is clear that Andor will be extremely influential to the future of Star Wars storytelling. "The Smuggler" already cemented itself as a perfect follow-up to the decorated Disney+ series, and Star Wars fans will definitely be on the lookout for the next Andor.
