You are excused if you were unaware that another Star Wars show is coming soon to Disney+. Disney has been busy with Marvel Cinematic Universe shows on their streaming platform, and of course, they’ve been busy with Star Wars ones too.

After the resounding success of The Mandalorian, it should come as no surprise that the minds behind the magic of the mega-profitable Star Wars properties will continue to mine the galaxy for stories untold on screen. While Marvel Comics have delved deep into lore, filling the story gaps, and exploring new characters, on-screen storytelling has been contained in comparison.

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Considering that Andor will be the fourth live-action show in the Star Wars universe, it’s rather remarkable. They have isolated the stories to film and animation shows thus far. The success of The Mandalorian has shown that the desire for original live-action programming continues to be insatiable.

And so we arrive at Andor, a prequel to Rogue One, starring Diego Luna as lead Cassian Andor. Andor, on its surface, has a difficult task ahead of it. Andor’s fate in Rogue One is like that of every other character introduced in that film (spoiler alert: short-lived). And knowing that, the burden of creating a compelling story around a character whose fate is already told (this is the same challenge that George Lucas faced with the prequel trilogy) has its serious challenges.

That said, here is what we think we know and what we can expect in the first season of Andor, arriving on Disney+ on September 21, 2022.

What The Trailer Tells Us

     Lucasfilm Ltd.

Other than focusing on star Diego Luna’s Andor, the show will be introducing new faces to the Star Wars galaxy. Those include Genevieve O’Reilly (as Mon Mothma), Alex Ferns (as Sgt. Kostek), Stellan Skarsgård, and Fiona Shaw, in unnamed roles. The Empire is at full strength, Stormtroopers are ever-present, the Senate is still functioning (it doesn’t get dissolved until Star Wars: A New Hope), and the seeds of the Rebellion we saw in Obi-Wan Kenobi are growing.

Excitingly, we got a quick glimpse at Saw Gerrera, the gruff and raw freedom fighter who in Rogue One was battle-damaged and mechanically reliant. We also saw some of his foot soldiers, armed and ready for battle.

But, the trailer took time to put the politics of Star Wars in full view and establish that Mon Mothma, an eventual, powerful leader of the Rebellion, will be well-placed within the high society of the Empire, working her talents from within at destabilization. Skarsgård’s character seems equally important within this space and the driving force behind imploring Andor to action.

Politics have always been a pivotal part of the Star Wars saga, exploring the rich tapestry of inspiration from the Roman Empire, American imperialism and conflicts, and world history. There looks to be plenty of action and excitement, too, as we saw scenes of Andor flying a ship being pursued by Tie Fighters, Andor blasting his way out of a sticky situation, as well as Skarsgård’s character.

How and When Andor Will Connect to Rogue One

     Disney+

Show creator Tony Gilroy confirmed that the series would lead right up to Rogue One. But not this season. In fact, it’ll be the finale of season two of Andor. This alone is a big announcement because it confirmed that a second season of the show has been ordered before the first even hits the streaming service.

Production on season two is expected to begin in November 2022, putting it on pace for a fall debut in 2023. Season one will be twelve episodes, double that of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Season two will also be twelve episodes. It speaks to the strength of the showrunner, the story, and the team creating the show that Disney brass feels so confident about the show to give it 24 episodes before anyone in the public has seen more than the trailer.

While at the Television Critics Association panel on August 3rd, Gilroy told those in attendance:

In many interviews, Gilroy and Luna have laid the groundwork to explain that Andor takes place five years before Rogue One, meaning that the Cassian Andor we know from that film is not the one we’ll see in the show. While Andor in Rogue One is at times a ruthless spy, we expect to see a more unsure and unsettled Andor, who stumbles into the early days of the Rebellion.

What We’re Guessing and Hoping We’ll See

Rogue One had a lot of fan favorites, but possibly none more so than the sarcastic, heroic, and selfless droid K-2SO. Gilroy spoke further about this popular droid at the TCA panel and avoided spoilers while doing so:

Even though we know we’ll see Saw Gerrera in the show, it would be great to see more about his story. They explored his character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as other canonical story expansions, but it seems likely audiences may get a glimpse of his extreme tactics that built his reputation.

In line with the moral ambiguity of Gerrera, we know that actions of Andor’s past are not always proud moments for him, as he said in Rogue One. We expect to see an Andor who makes tough decisions in the Rebellion’s name, whether or not we as the audience agree with them.

Andor, with its planned 24-episode run, seems poised to be the biggest setpiece for expanding pre-Rebellion storytelling possibilities, with potentially far-reaching implications on elements in other story favorites, like The Mandalorian.

If Gilroy’s comments ring true, the ramifications of events within Andor will not only emotionally enhance the already gripping Rogue One but add to the overall weight of stories and sacrifice told of the Rebellion and their quest to destroy the Empire.