There may not be any new Star Wars movies in the near future, but the Disney+ shows are becoming more and more cinematic. If Lucasfilm’s D23 presentation indicated anything, it's that upcoming shows like Andor and The Mandalorian have generated the hype and fanfare of a new Star Wars movie. We will be getting our first impressions of Andor soon, as the first three episodes of the Rogue One prequel series are set to debut on Disney+ on September 21.
Andor tells the story of the Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in the years before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Cassian was an outlaw who joined forces with the early rebel forces before they became organized into an alliance. We will see some of the “terrible things” that Cassian says that he’s done for the rebel cause in Rogue One; Andor is apparently on a three-season arc and is set to begin filming its second season in November.
Although the beginning of the trailer features some hints of John Williams’ original Star Wars score, the tone is much darker than anything else we’ve seen on the Disney+ shows. The trailer is clearly marketed as a “spy series,” and mentions Tony Gilroy’s work on The Bourne Legacy. Gilroy is a master of espionage thrillers; before coming in to save Rogue One during reshoots, he directed both The Bourne Legacy and Michael Clayton. He also co-wrote the original Bourne trilogy, as well as spy thrillers such as Beirut and State of Play.
The trailer begins with Cassian in the middle of a terrified crowd that watches stormtroopers march through the streets. Based on his scrappy garbs, this may take place before Cassian joins any formal sort of resistance movement. In Rogue One, he mentions that he’s been fighting the Empire since he was a child, but was doing it on his own for a long time. It looks like we’re seeing Cassian’s recruitment; he is called to give his life to “something real” by the Rebel Alliance leader Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård).
We also see a few glimpses of some of the other rebels from the Star Wars universe. There’s a shot of Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) in the Imperial Senate; Mothma doesn’t officially leave the Empire and declare her defiance until Star Wars Rebels, so it looks like we’ll be seeing how she observes the rise of fascism within the former halls of democracy. Mothma is told that they are “fighting against the dark” by the new character Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay). It seems like Sartha is one of Mothma’s early allies who stand against the Empire.
After meeting with Rael, Cassian runs through what looks like the same city he was in earlier as TIE Fighters are flying overhead, trying to shoot him down. This planet looks to be an Imperial stronghold; the new Imperial character Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) lands on a dark platform and begins organizing a hunt within the city. Several Death Troopers (whose design we see in Rogue One) break into homes in what looks like a Sicario-style raid. Since Cassian is meeting with a few armed characters in a mountainside village outside of the main city, he may be either gathering allies or meeting with some of Rael’s operatives.
Rael has a frank conversation with Mothma about the costs of “giving everything” for a war against the Empire. Mothma is clearly concerned that any resistance effort could affect civilians, but Rael insists that this is the right time to force the Empire’s hand. This should hopefully provide some dramatic groundwork for the first season; what responsibility does the Rebel Alliance have to those that can’t defend themselves?
We also see Rael talking to Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), the “extremist” rebel leader who later breaks from the Rebel Alliance to form his own resistance movement. Gerrera’s role in the series is unclear; Cassian knows enough about him in Rogue One to recognize that he can’t be trusted, but doesn’t reference any specific adventures that they go on together. It looks like we’re seeing how Gerrera’s radicalism begins, as he furiously tells Rael that they are in the middle of a war.
It also looks like we’ll be seeing how the anti-Imperial sentiments begin on the street level where Cassian operates. He mentions that people are afraid, but that if they do nothing, the Empire will only go stronger. Cassian talks with Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona), who presumably is one of his early allies. It looks like they are breaking into an Imperial stronghold in a city area. This is where we see another enigmatic Imperial officer played by Game of Thrones star Anton Lesser.
There are several shots of protestors and workers rioting against the Empire. Since the troopers still appear to be in their “Phase II” armor from the end of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, this may be earlier within the Empire’s galactic takeover. The stormtroopers we see in Rogue One have graduated to the armor that we see in the original trilogy. Although it’s not clear if there will be any time jumps in the series, Cassian talks to his mother, Maarva (Fiona Shaw), later in the trailer. Could his parents’ death be the inciting incident that spurs Cassian into action?
Andor has the potential to tell a grounded, darker story within the Star Wars universe. We only see a few shots of space action in this trailer, and it looks like most of the story is mostly confined to one planet, possibly Cassian’s homeworld. We’ve certainly gotten out fair share of lightsaber content thanks to The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi; it will be nice to focus on the perspective of some heroes who aren’t Force-sensitive for a change.
The first three episodes of Andor debut on Disney+ on September 21.