The best thing Star Wars has done in years has returned: why Andor is the way forward for the franchise

If you are in this world, you will know perfectly that Disney Plus has just released the second season of Andor. And, although there is still no data on how this highly anticipated premiere has performed, the conversation on social media makes it clear that Star Wars fans can once again be pleased. Finally, after a long wait, the best cultural artifact that Disney has created from the Lucasfilm saga is back.

A New Hope for Star Wars

Despite the fact that, in recent years, it seems that Star Wars has completely lost its way, when Andor premiered in 2022, we had to count our blessings. The first season was an anomaly celebrated by critics and audiences alike: a series that broke away from the most outdated and boring codes of the saga, daring to address much deeper and more interesting themes. With a sober, political, existentialist, and complex approach, Andor not only expanded the universe of this galaxy far, far away, but also demonstrated that there was still plenty of room to tell great and relevant stories within it.

Despite the fact that in Andor we cannot see (generally) the best iconography of Star Wars, that is, lightsabers, jedis, and the power of the Force, the series managed to delve into the gaps of George Lucas’s universe like never before. Tony Gilroy, its showrunner, focused on the margins. He spoke of the oppressed workers of the Empire, the gloryless spies of the Rebellion, and the lives devastated by a totalitarian system that is shown not from the visual spectacle, but from the everyday gears of repression. The reception left no room for doubt. With a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and multiple awards, it was clear that it was the best Star Wars had done in years. And for that, it only had to follow the path laid out by Rogue One.

The return of Andor, therefore, is not only that of its protagonist played by Diego Luna, but also the confirmation that Star Wars can be relevant beyond fanservice. The only downside is that it will be its last season, as we must remember that all the events of the series conclude in Rogue One. But now it is time to enjoy this narrative ambition that, honestly, no one expected from Disney.

Despite the fact that The Mandalorian demonstrated that visual wonders could be achieved in series format, Andor goes where neither Pedro Pascal’s series nor many others like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, or The Acolyte have gone. Andor does not feel like a series shot in front of a green screen. Thanks to its cinematographic and artistic direction, its dusty streets and historically rich buildings can be felt. Moreover, this commitment to tactile realism is not only based on the settings. It also extends to the treatment of the characters: Cassian is not a traditional hero, but a broken man, driven to fight not by a high moral code, but by anger, pain, and loss. The rebellion in Andor does not arise from destiny, but from desperation.

Nevertheless, this narrative gem lands in the worst context of the saga in its history. The oversaturation of poorly handled series and movies, with little depth and overstuffed characters, has resulted in very few fictions that escape the fate of Star Wars. Perhaps the closest exception is Skeleton Crew, but the rest of the television fiction of Star Wars seems doomed to failure.

In this creative desert, Andor stands out as an oasis. But also as a dangerous exception: a series that seems to exist despite the system, not because of it. The big question is whether Star Wars will have the courage to follow this path. For now, it doesn’t seem so. But perhaps it’s time for another new hope to arrive.