Anticipation for Andor, Lucasfilm's third live-action Disney+ series of 2022, is continuing to build ahead of its September release. Starring Diego Luna who's reprising his Rogue One role as Cassian Andor, this particular series just may be Lucasfilm's most unique and ambitious show to date.
In addition to having been filmed on location and without the Volume, Andor exists as both a spin-off and a prequel to 2016's Rogue One. While limited to a certain point in time, Andor has been creative in that its 12-episode season is set five years before Rogue One and will span a year of Cassian's life.
The show's already confirmed second season will also consist of 12 episodes but will cover four years through the use of time jumps.
To help audiences understand just when and where Andor belongs within the history of that galaxy far, far awy, Lucasfilm has released a new promo explaining what viewers need to know.
Andor's Place on the Star Wars Timeline Explained
A new trailer for Andor on Disney+ has highlighted the Star Wars timeline order and explained when the events of the new show take place and their influence.
In the promo, which is narrated by Cassian Andor's Diego Luna, Star Wars shows a snippet of the Star Wars timeline centered on the events leading up to 1977's A New Hope.
Luna explains that Andor occurs before A New Hope, before the creation of the Death Star, and before "a team of Rebels known as Rogue One unite for the first time."
As footage from the upcoming series plays, Luna goes on to say that a thief named Cassian Andor "will be thrust onto a journey that sparks the birth of a rebellion and sets in motion everything you've come to know."
Check out the full trailer below:
Why Andor Matters to the Star Wars Timeline
Chronological order has never been the Star Wars way. But when it comes to Andor, it's even more complicated for general audiences since Cassian died at the end of Rogue One.
It's likely that Lucasfilm is attempting to get out ahead of these inevitable questions with this trailer; but in doing so, the studio is accomplishing something else.
One of the common complaints with prequels is that audiences already know the ending.
Since it's a known fact that Cassian doesn't survive Rogue One, casual viewers need to know why this story matters.
As Diego Luna explains when Andor takes place, he also communicates this narrative's importance by saying that Cassian's journey "sparks the birth of a rebellion" and "sets in motion everything you've come to know."
This isn't just Cassian's story; it's the origins of the Rebel Alliance. And, what happens throughout the show's run is responsible for the events of the original trilogy and beyond.
Therefore, what Star Wars is trying to say is that Andor is just supplementary storytelling squeezed into a slot on the timeline. Instead, it's the why of it all that transpires after it.
The three-episode premiere of Andor debuts on Disney+ on September 21.
