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6 big ‘Star Wars’ questions we want 'Andor' to answer
There's plenty that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story didn't tell us about Cassian Andor. Here's what we still want to know.
Six years ago, arguably one of the best Star Wars movies, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, landed in our pop culture laps with one of the most bittersweet stories of heroism to come out of a galaxy, far, far away. One amongst the ensemble of original characters who bravely gave their lives to get the Death Star plans from the Imperial forces to Princess Leia was Rebellion spy, Captain Cassian Andor. Passionate, world-weary, and plenty enigmatic, Andor teased audiences with lots of breadcrumbs about what led him to join up with fellow upstart Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) to go up against the Empire, but then they perished after completing their mission and his secrets went with him. But then it was announced Cassian was getting his own prequel Disney+ series, Andor, to not only flesh out the character but the time period leading right into Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and subsequently, Star Wars: A New Hope.
Andor premieres with three episodes on Sept. 21 and we know the first season is set five years before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Series creator/writer Tony Gilroy says Cassian is a very different man than the one who fought with the rebels on Scarif beach and we'll see the steps he took to get there over the span of 24 episodes. That's a lot of juicy screen time to learn more about the spy and to get answers about some of the more interesting (yet vague) truths he revealed about himself in his film debut. Here are six unsolved Andor mysteries we hope to find out.
How did Cassian find and reprogram K-2SO?
One of the great human/droid relationships in the Star Wars pantheon is Cassian and his acerbic, reprogrammed Imperial droid wingman, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk). Imposingly tall with a black steel frame, K-2SO is like no other support droid we've seen in the universe, and how they came to work together is likely a great story just waiting to be told. In his role as a spy, Cassian's certainly had plenty of access to Imperial droids, but keeping one and then successfully reprogramming it to be an ally seems like quite the feat. It implies that Cassian has some keen abilities when it comes to tech. But even more interesting is that Cassian must have had an outsized motivation to drag that pile of steel with him so he could repurpose him. And then how did Andor come to trust the droid? We want to see all of it, and luckily the creatives promise that full story in Season 2.
What happened to Cassian when he was 6 years old?
After the mission to find Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) on Eadu goes very badly, Cassian and Jyn reconvene in their U-wing and have a very vocal confrontation about his secret orders to take her father out. When she compares him to a Stormtrooper, he finally bristles and says, "We don't all have the luxury of deciding when and where we want to care about something. Suddenly the Rebellion is real for you. Some of us live it. I've been in this fight since I was 6 years old. You're not the only one who lost everything. Some of us just decided to do something about it." It's the biggest glimpse we get in regards to Andor's past and what spurred him to become a spy for the Rebellion. What happened when he was just a child and did it wipe out his whole family or just put them under the thumb of the Imperials? He obviously never had a childhood and that explains his battle-hardened approach when we first meet him. Getting more of that story will surely recontextualize how we see him in Rogue One even more.
What was Cassian's history with informant Tivik?
Our introduction to Rebel Alliance intelligence officer Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story occurs he meets his twitchy Imperial informant, Tivik, in a section nine trading outpost. Tivik tells Andor that an Imperial defector is spreading information that the Empire is building a planet-killing weapon that uses kyber crystals being harvested from Jedha. When Imperial Stormtroopers get too close to their location, Tivik panics and Cassian kills him so he can escape with this vital information. Despite Tivik's nerves, there's obviously a history that goes back between these two men. Is this a like-minded Rebellion relationship or is Cassian just paying Tivik for his loose lips? What did it cost Cassian morally to pull that trigger?
How often has Andor worked directly with Mon Mothma?
After he breaks Jyn Ero out of Wobani prison and takes her to the Alliance Council, Andor is amongst the inner circle at the council, along with heavy hitters like, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), Jan Dodonna, Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), and Davits Draven. Cassian mostly observes their interrogation of Erso about her relationship with her former caretaker, rebel Partisan extremist, Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). They clearly value his counsel and abilities, so much so that Draven ultimately gives him the order to take out Galen Erso. With that kind of trust and access, it begs the question how closely have Mothma and Andor worked together in building the Rebellion?
Have Saw Gerrera and Andor tangled before?
Speaking of Saw Gerrera, the Clone War veteran-turned leader of the Partisan fighters appears in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in arguably a very unstable mental space after years of war against the Imperials. However, he's a legend which means Andor might have crossed paths with Gerrera and his Partisans plenty of times in their shared fight. Was there a time Andor could have joined the Partisans? And if so, why not join their ranks? Or maybe they've just been informational or resource traders in the past? The possibilities are intriguing, to say the least.
How did Cassian get his hope back?
Early in Rogue One as Cassian's getting to know Jyn on their mission to Jedha, as they're trying to figure out how to get an audience with Saw Gerrera, he throws out an idea of how to do it successfully. She's confused by his use of the word "hope" to which he replies, "Rebellions are built on hope." It ends up becoming the shared sentiment that ultimately drives their shared suicide mission to Scarif. And while there might have been some initial cynicism in flinging that phrase at Jyn, there's also truth in that statement for Andor as hope most certainly led him to the fight and has kept him in it for years. It would be interesting to see the moment of hope that galvanized Cassian to really invest in the Rebellion.
Andor premieres on Disney+ on Sept. 21 and new episodes will drop weekly.
