Andor Hurts Star Wars’ Future (Because It’s So Good)

There’s a strange sense in which the Andor Disney+ TV series has hurt Star Wars‘ future, simply because it’s set a new benchmark against which everything else will be judged. The absence of recent Star Wars movies has blinded most viewers to Lucasfilm’s greatest achievement in the Disney era; they have truly transformed Star Wars into a trailblazing transmedia franchise. The franchise has been invested in transmedia since 1978, when the first tie-in novel was published, but the last few years have seen wave after wave of successful Disney+ TV shows – in both live-action and animated form.

The first season of The Mandalorian launched alongside the initial release of Disney+, and smart marketing meant the sheer cuteness of Baby Yoda (aka Grogu) meant it became a hit. Since then, Lucasfilm has been responsible for a series of high-profile Disney+ successes; Dave Filoni was finally given the opportunity to wrap up the story of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor returned in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Star Wars: Visions allowed the franchise to embrace anime. But the live-action Andor Disney+ TV show is easily the best to date – and, oddly enough, that may cause problems for Lucasfilm going forward.

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Andor Is Exactly What Star Wars Needed

Andor avoided focusing on fan-service and Easter eggs; the few that were included – such as relics in an antique shop – were often added without showrunner Tony Gilroy’s knowledge. The focus instead lay on some of the smartest writing that’s ever been seen in Star Wars, and actors such as Stellan Skarsgård and Fiona Shaw took visible delight in the dialogue. Gilroy shot the show on practical sets and locations, choosing not to use the latest ILM CGI tools because he felt it would affect his workflow. This was likely an expensive choice, but it meant Andor fitted in visually with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – and stood out among the other Star Wars live-action Disney+ series, which have universally depended on ILM’s Volume technology.

Andor learned from George Lucas’ mistakes, telling a sophisticated political story that avoided the black and white dynamic of the light and dark sides of the Force. Its heroes were deeply flawed, with one chilling moment in which two rebel leaders allowed an entire cell to be wiped out so a mole wasn’t exposed. The stakes increased over time, with season 1 earning its explosive finale, and no hint of fan-service; viewers were left talking about the story beats and character arcs, not about a cool and unexpected Jedi moment or an echo of the original trilogy. Andor was a breath of fresh air, coming at a time when Star Wars increasingly felt as though fan-service sold better than storytelling.

Star Wars Needs To Continue Being Bold Like Andor Was

It’s important to note this doesn’t mean every Disney+ Star Wars TV series should be like Andor. The Star Wars galaxy is broad and deep enough for a broad range of content, aimed at different audiences – content aimed at children, young adults, or even more mature demographics (third party analytics has suggested Andor is drawing in an older age-profile than most Star Wars content). Rather, the point is simply that every show should be able to stand on its own two feet, depending on the strength of its own creative vision instead of fan-service and Easter eggs. The sad truth is that this has been quite rare for Disney+ TV series – a problem that can be seen with Marvel Studios as well, where showrunners have often felt as though their ideas were constrained by the shared universe in which they were operating. There’s a sense of creative freedom to Andor that feels so very refreshing.

Can Any Upcoming Star Wars Shows Compete With Andor?

Disney has already confirmed eight Star Wars TV shows after Andor, meaning viewers will have no shortage of original content set in a galaxy far, far away. The Mandalorian season 3 and the upcoming Ahsoka series will continue to explore the post-Return of the Jedi part of the timeline, and they’re expected to deal with several mysteries left unresolved by the Star Wars Rebels animated series. Star Wars: The Bad Batch got off to something of a lacklustre first season, depending far too much on cameos while its own main characters felt as though they were barely sketched-out; season 2 will hopefully be much stronger, but it’s unlikely to correct all these flaws. These three are unlikely to compete with Andor in terms of sheer quality. Meanwhile, too little is known about the likes of Young Jedi Knights or Skeleton Crew to know what to expect.

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The most promising upcoming Star Wars TV show is The Acolyte, set at the end of the High Republic Era – decades before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. This is a period that’s almost untouched in Star Wars lore, giving showrunner Leslye Headland the opportunity to tell a story unlike any seen before in the franchise’s history. Teased as a mystery-thriller that will see a former Padawan reunite with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, it will pull back the veil of the dark side and presumably set up the revenge of the Sith. The impressive cast includes the likes of Carrie-Anne Moss and Dafne Keen, a remarkable coup for Lucasfilm. There have been reports The Acolyte will take a hybrid approach to production, blending the Volume with practical sets and location work. It will be fascinating to see how the different workflows are managed.

The fundamental problem, though, is that Andor‘s approach to fan-service, storytelling, and even casting has raised the bar. Expectations were already high for Star Wars, but now they are higher than ever; where before audiences expected Easter eggs, now they have been shown they can have compelling narratives and truly impressive dialogue to boot. The success of Andor is only possible because Lucasfilm let Gilroy make the show he wanted to make, choosing not to interfere for setup and spinoffs, and the studio will need to back off from future projects if their quality is to be as impressive as Andor‘s. Not every one of these hypothetical Disney+ TV shows would be a hit, of course; the problem with experimenting is that sometimes experiments fail. But that would be a far better future for Star Wars, likely one George Lucas himself – who always wanted the franchise to evolve – would applaud.

Every episode of Andor season 1 is streaming now on Disney+.

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