It is hard to get me excited for a new Star Wars TV series. I don't think I'm alone, either; a great many such shows have come out over the past several years, to generally diminishing returns. The Acolyte, which aired last year, underperformed to the point where Disney chose not to renew it for a second season, which left several plot threads hanging. How do you make this universe feel exciting again?
Well, Star Wars: Andor managed to pull it off. The first season of this drama aired on Disney+ back in 2022, and while a lot of new Star Wars shows and movies claim to be "Star Wars but for adults" or "mature Star Wars," Andor actually did it. The show follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a cynic living under the yoke of the Empire. Over the course of the first season, he comes to truly believe in the mission of the Rebel Alliance. In the second and final season, he'll start already fully committed to the cause, which is terrible news for the Empire.
Andor felt different than other Star Wars shows. The series, overseen by Tony Gilroy, felt like it got under the skin of how a horrific bureaucracy like the Empire would actually function, and was honest about the sacrifices necessary to bring it down. Star Wars has been beloved for decades, but you feel the stakes in Andor in a way you don't in other movies and shows. At the same time, Andor doesn't discount or dismiss those other stories; it's simply something new under the twin suns, and that's exciting.
The trailer for the second season, which you can watch above, looks really bold. It's clearly Star Wars — there are stormtroopers, and TIE fighters, and the Death Star — but it's all from a point of view we don't usually get. There are no Jedis or lightsabers. Instead of a soaring John Williams song we have a snarling rock track. It's different, but when it comes to Star Wars, I am ready for different.
Star Wars: Andor season 2 premieres on Tuesday, April 22 on Disney+. That's also Earth Day, FYI, although I have no idea if that means anything.
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