Andor

Premise

Andor represents a detailed view on how the Galactic Empire's government operates and the everyday consequences of its actions upon its citizens. Beginning five years before the events of Rogue One and A New Hope, the series employs an ensemble cast of characters to demonstrate how a Rebel Alliance forms in opposition to the Galactic Empire. Central to the cast is the eponymous Cassian Andor, a thief who becomes a revolutionary and eventually joins the Rebellion.

Cast and characters

Starring

Diego Luna as Cassian Andor: A thief and scavenger whose home planet, Kenari, was rendered uninhabitable by the Galactic Empire. The series begins with Andor as a "revolution-averse" cynic and explores how he becomes "the most passionate person who's going to give themselves to save the galaxy" in Rogue One. Gilroy has described him as a natural leader who manipulates people, adding that he is "really a perfect kind of spy, warrior, killer." Antonio Viña portrays a young Cassian, when he was known as Kassa.

Kyle Soller as Syril Karn: A Deputy Inspector for Preox-Morlana (Pre-Mor) Authority, a corporate conglomerate in charge of a trade sector. Syril works for Pre-Mor's security services and is determined to capture Cassian after learning he killed two Pre-Mor security employees.

Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen: A mechanic and black market dealer who is Cassian's ally and close friend, and has been romantically involved with him on and off. She cares for Maarva in Cassian's absence.

Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael: A key player in the nascent rebellion, known only as "Axis" by Imperial agents. He is Bix's contact for selling stolen equipment, and hires Cassian on his first mission as a Rebel operative. Luthen poses publicly as an antiques dealer from Coruscant.

Fiona Shaw as Maarva Andor (season 1): Cassian's adoptive mother who took him from Kenari with her husband, Clem.

Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma: An Imperial senator representing the wealthy core world of Chandrila who tries to navigate the politics of the Empire while secretly using her family fortune to help fund the fledgling rebellion. O'Reilly reprises the role from prior Star Wars media, including Rogue One.

Denise Gough as Dedra Meero: An ambitious and strategic supervisor for the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) who is deeply absorbed with hunting and eliminating a rebel leader code-named "Axis". She is later seen in a relationship with Syril.

Faye Marsay as Vel Sartha: A Rebel operative working for Luthen who leads the raiding mission on Aldhani, and Mothma's cousin. She is in a relationship with Cinta.

Recurring

Joplin Sibtain as Brasso: Cassian's co-worker and friend.

James McArdle as Timm Karlo (season 1): Bix's co-worker and boyfriend.

Rupert Vansittart as Chief Hyne (season 1): Syril's Pre-Mor superior.

Alex Ferns as Sergeant Linus Mosk (season 1): A Pre-Mor officer.

Gary Beadle as Clem Andor (season 1): Maarva's partner and Cassian's adoptive father. Cassian uses his name as an alias.

Kathryn Hunter as Eedy Karn: Syril's mother.

Alastair Mackenzie as Perrin Fertha: Mothma's husband, who is unaware of her anti-Imperial activities.

Bronte Carmichael as Leida Mothma: Mothma's daughter.

Anton Lesser as Major Lio Partagaz: Dedra's commanding officer in the Imperial Security Bureau.

Alex Lawther as Karis Nemik: An idealistic Rebel on Aldhani who has written an anti-Empire manifesto.

Sule Rimi as Lieutenant Gorn (season 1): An Imperial officer on Aldhani who is secretly one of Vel's Rebels.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Arvel Skeen (season 1): A mysterious Rebel on Aldhani.

Gershwyn Eustache Jnr as Taramyn Barcona (season 1): A Rebel on Aldhani who is a former Stormtrooper.

Stanley Townsend as Commandant Jayhold Beehaz (season 1): Gorn's Imperial superior on Aldhani.

Episodes

Production

Development

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in November 2017 that Disney and Lucasfilm were developing live-action Star Wars television series for the new streaming service Disney+. One of these series was revealed a year later to be a prequel to the film Rogue One (2016). The series was described as a spy thriller show focused on the character Cassian Andor, with Diego Luna reprising his role from the film. Production was expected to begin in 2019 after Luna completed filming the second season of Narcos: Mexico (2020). Jared Bush originally developed the series, writing a pilot script and series bible for the project.

By the end of November 2018, Stephen Schiff was serving as showrunner and executive producer of the series, whose working title was Pilgrim. Tony Gilroy, who was credited as a co-writer on Rogue One and oversaw extensive reshoots for the film, joined the series by early 2019 when he discussed the first story details with Luna. Gilroy, having received an earlier version of the script, compared Andor's relationship with K-2SO to that of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and felt it was "totally limited and claustrophobic". As such, he had sent a letter to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy explaining his vision for the series. By the next year, Kennedy had contacted Gilroy to ask if he was interested in joining the series. In July 2019, Rick Famuyiwa was in early talks to direct several episodes after doing the same for The Mandalorian (2019–2023), the first live-action Star Wars series. Gilroy's involvement was revealed that October, when he was set to write the first episode, direct multiple episodes and work alongside Schiff; Gilroy had officially replaced Schiff as showrunner by April 2020. Six weeks of pre-production for the series had taken place in the United Kingdom by then, but this was halted and production on the series delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-production had begun again by September ahead of a planned filming start the next month. At that time, Gilroy, who is based in New York, chose not to travel to the UK for production on the series due to the pandemic, and was therefore unable to direct the series' first episode. Instead, the UK-based Toby Haynes, who was already "high on the list" of potential directors for the series, was hired to direct the first three episodes. Gilroy would remain executive producer and showrunner. Kennedy announced the series' title, Andor, in December 2020, along with its 2022 release date. Luna was revealed to be an executive producer on the series, which was set to consist of 12 episodes. In February 2021, Ben Caron and Susanna White were set as additional directors. Sanne Wohlenberg and Michelle Rejwan also executive produced.

In February 2022, star Stellan Skarsgård indicated that the series would have a second season, with filming for it beginning in late 2022. That April, cinematographer Adriano Goldman said there had originally been plans for the series to last five seasons, but he believed those had changed and that it was now expected to last three. At Star Wars Celebration a month later, Lucasfilm confirmed a 12-episode second season. Gilroy explained that the original five-season plan was deemed to be "physically impossible" due to the series' scale, and instead they realized that they could end the series with one more season that led directly into the events of Rogue One.

Writing

In addition to Gilroy and Schiff, writers for the series include Beau Willimon and Gilroy's brother Dan. Gilroy urged his writing team to put aside their personal reverence and nostalgia for Star Wars, fearing that such an attitude could change their behavior and work. Gilroy wanted the series to be accessible to all viewers, not just Star Wars fans, with the hope that those fans would be able to watch the series with their friends and family who may not be interested in the rest of the franchise. He had also wanted to ensure the series was grounded in reality, and had identified the main "navigational Star Wars piece of information" as being the calendar. During the first writers' room meeting, Gilroy had prepared a 100-page outline for the series, as he had already mapped out the structure. Willimon and Dan Gilroy were present, in addition to executive producer Sanne Wohlenberg and production designer, Luke Hull. They had discussed the story for five days. Luna expressed his excitement at being able to further explore the character he had originated in Rogue One.

Since Andor is a prequel to the film, Luna said it was, "nice to go into a story [of which] you already know the ending. Now you can [flesh out] the nuances and the layers. I think it's fun to do something that isn't just about getting to the end. It's about delaying that." Luna was able to suggest elements of the character's backstory that he had thought of during the filming of Rogue One, and was grateful that Gilroy made the character a refugee. He explained, "It's the journey of a migrant, which to me is everything I come from. That feeling of having to move is behind this story very profoundly." Luna felt that because of this, it was "difficult to find out where he comes from," and felt that Andor wanted to "find the opportunities, the freedom, the chances they don't find where they're born." He had also felt that Andor's character was important to members of the Hispanic and Latin American community, and wanted the "energy" of Mexico–United States relations to be represented in Andor's journey. Gilroy wanted to expand upon Andor's backstory, and had used dialogue said by him in Rogue One - "I've been in this fight since I was six years old!" - as a starting point. In the development process, Gilroy had labelled it, "The Education of Cassian Andor". From there, he had created the planet Kenari as his childhood home, where he had lived with other children, and no adult supervision. Gilroy had compared it to being a "Lord of the Flies (1954)-like tribe," with Andor's separation from the tribe also serving as an introduction to Maarva and Clem Andor, desiring to introduce the audience to the Ferrix culture early on as the writing team had spent time creating its social structure. Towards the beginning, he had described Maarva as loving Andor "as much as she could possibly love him," though in the beginning of the series, she had been disappointed by the direction of Andor's life. As the series had progressed, Gilroy wanted to develop the emotional connection between them.

Design

Luke Hull served as production designer on the series, and described it as "very cinematic". Neal Scanlan provided the creature and droid effects after doing the same for all of Disney's Star Wars films, including Rogue One. He said his team was treating the series the same as they did the films, and due to Gilroy's involvement the series would fit within the same "pocket of [Star Wars] history" as Rogue One with a "slightly harder edge" than other Star Wars projects. Scanlan added that unused creatures developed for the films could be brought back for the series, alongside newly created creatures. An outdoor city set, which co-star Adria Arjona estimated to be three to five city blocks long, was built practically for the series.

Casting

Diego Luna was confirmed to be reprising his role as Cassian Andor from Rogue One with the series' announcement in November 2018. In April 2019, Alan Tudyk was announced as also reprising his Rogue One role of K-2SO. A year later, Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller, Genevieve O'Reilly, and Denise Gough joined the cast. O'Reilly reprised her role of Mon Mothma from Rogue One and other Star Wars media. Adria Arjona joined the cast in August 2020, and Fiona Shaw was revealed to also be appearing in December, when Tudyk was not included in an official cast list. A month later, Tudyk confirmed that he would no longer be appearing in the first season due to Gilroy's story changes but he could appear in potential future seasons; he ultimately appeared in season 2. CCH Pounder was originally cast in Fiona Shaw's role Maarva Andor, but dropped out before filming. Robert Emms was cast in a supporting role in June 2021, when Skarsgård revealed that Forest Whitaker was reprising his role as Saw Gerrera from Rogue One. In February 2022, David Hayman confirmed that he had a role in the series after being spotted by fans during filming. Joplin Sibtain appears as Brasso, Cassian's co-worker and friend. The character was originally portrayed by Rory McCann, before he had to leave the production following a knee injury during filming. Since McCann had already shot some scenes, CGI was used to superimpose Sibtain's face on scenes already filmed. McCann was later cast to replace Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll in Star Wars: Ahsoka (2023–present). The first season has over 200 named cast members and over 6,000 extras.

Luna, Skarsgård, O'Reilly, Soller, Arjona, Gough, Marsay, Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau, Whitaker, Emms, Anton Lesser and Muhannad Bhaier reprise their roles in the second season, among others. In March 2023, set footage revealed that Benjamin Bratt had been cast for the second season in an undisclosed role, later revealed to be Bail Organa, replacing Jimmy Smits in the role. In June 2024, Ben Mendelsohn was revealed to be reprising his role as Orson Krennic from Rogue One in the second season. Tudyk appears in the second season.

Filming

Filming began in London, England, at the end of November 2020, with the production based at Pinewood Studios. The series was filmed under the working title Pilgrim, and was the first live-action Star Wars series to not make use of the StageCraft digital background technology. This was done because the scripts were more suited to being filmed on locations and large sets, and Luna noted that taking a different filming approach for the series made it similar to Rogue One, whose filming style was distinct from other Star Wars films. Toby Haynes directed the first three episodes, with Benjamin Caron, Susanna White, and Haynes each directing another "block" of three episodes. Jonathan Freeman and Adriano Goldman served as cinematographers. The series was previously reported to begin filming in 2019, and then June 2020, but was delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both UK and U.S. COVID-19 protocols were followed on set, including daily temperature checks and tests for COVID-19 three times a week. Filming at Pinewood Studios was expected to end in July 2021.

By late January 2021, a large village set had been built on the grounds of a former quarry in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, not far from Pinewood Studios, with filming expected to last there until April. Filming in April also took place at the Coryton Refinery in Corringham, Essex, and in East London at Canary Wharf where the plaza under the bridge to the Elizabeth line station served as the entrance to the Imperial Security Bureau on Coruscant. Canary Wharf had also been a filming location for Rogue One. The concrete walkways of the Barbican Centre were used to represent buildings on Coruscant. Several days of filming occurred in Cleveleys on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire in early May, with the town's promenade and beach area dressed as an alien location, later revealed to be the resort planet of Niamos followed by another several days filming in the disused Winspit quarry in Dorset. Second unit and location filming began for at least a week at the end of May in Black Park, a country park in Buckinghamshire near Pinewood Studios which was also used for filming Disney's Star Wars films. By the end of May, main production on Pilgrim had moved to Glen Tilt in Perthshire, Scotland, and was expected to continue there until late June. Around 500 crewmembers traveled to Oban, Scotland, for filming at the nearby Cruachan Dam. This started by June 18, with sets built around the dam and filming also happening in its tunnels. From June 22 to 24, filming took place at Middle Peak Quarry near Wirksworth, Derbyshire. Production was expected to wrap in mid-2021, and Luna confirmed that it had finished by September 27.

The second season began filming on November 21, 2022, and was expected to last until August 2023, with Gilroy anticipating a year for post-production as with the first season. Episodes were once again filmed in "blocks" of three episodes at a time, with each block moving the story a year closer to the events of Rogue One. Gilroy stated he would not direct in the second season because of his commitments as showrunner. Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz, and Alonso Ruizpalacios directed episodes of the second season, with Kleiman directing six episodes. In March 2023 Season 2 was revealed to be filming in Xàtiva and Valencia with director Metz among the cast and crew including actor Benjamin Bratt indicating he had joined the series. In April 2023, filming was suspended in Winspit Quarry, near Worth Matravers in Dorset due to landslip concerns. The next month filming was suspended again due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. By that June, production had been approximately halfway completed. In June 2023, filming took place at Hever Castle in Kent. In July 2023, filming was cut short for the duration of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, with plans to resume production after both strikes concluded. Filming resumed in early January 2024 and wrapped on February 9, 2024.

Music

Gilroy contacted Nicholas Britell about composing for the series in 2020, before filming began so he could compose source music that would be played on set. Gilroy and Britell, who are neighbors in Manhattan, first met for the project in August 2020. Kennedy and Gilroy wanted the series to have a unique sound, and Britell said it would be "orchestral-plus" with a "wide range of sounds" including some that he had created. He added that the large scope of the series meant that "every episode has new demands, new music, and new ideas. It's important that as the story evolves, the music should evolve too." Britell was publicly revealed to be the series' composer in February 2022, and was still working on it that May when he said they had been "working nonstop for months, actually years, at this point". Recording was underway by then at AIR Lyndhurst studios in London, with a full orchestra. Britell was unable to travel to London due to the pandemic, but had a team in place there that also worked with him on other television series.

For season two, Britell did not return to score due to scheduling conflicts. He was replaced by Brandon Roberts. Britell did however write a limited amount of music for season two and is credited as the main composer of episodes four and five.

Marketing

A sizzle reel featuring behind-the-scenes footage of pre-production and filming was released during Disney's Investors Day presentation in December 2020, when the series' title and cast were officially announced by Kennedy. Gilroy, Luna, and O'Reilly promoted the series at Star Wars Celebration in May 2022, where they revealed the first teaser trailer. The Hollywood Reporter's Aaron Couch said it showed the "gritty side" of the Star Wars universe. Daniel Chin of The Ringer felt the series had a unique identity in the Star Wars franchise, with a darker tone, and said the teaser "paints a picture of the formative years of the rebellion against the Empire". Ryan Scott from /Film felt the teaser gave the "most comprehensive view at the show up to this point". He said the series could explore the morality behind the Rebels, writing that while they are usually seen as heroes there is also "much gray area in there to be explored". Writing for CNET, Sean Keane felt the trailer did not give much away but gave an "intriguing taste of the show's espionage tone".

Luna promoted the series and debuted the official trailer on Good Morning America on August 1. Hattie Lindert from The A.V. Club highlighted the action scenes in the trailer, saying, "In addition to the epic scale and darker tone, the series also promises intense fight scenes created with limited green screen use" and also noted Gilroy's experience with action films due to his work on the Jason Bourne films. The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd enjoyed Andor's increased screen-time in the trailer compared to the teaser, and felt the series was a "welcome scenic change from the company's previous Star Wars shows". At CNN, Scottie Andrew felt it "reveals a bit more about Andor's evolution from common thief to galactic martyr". Luna and Kennedy promoted the series at the 2022 D23 Expo, with CNET's Keane writing, "The trailer paints a pretty grim setup for revolutionary fighter Cassian Andor and his pals, as fighting the Empire and row upon row of Stormtroopers looks like a one-way ticket to death". Meanwhile, Collider's Rachel Leishman felt the trailer "gives us a bit more of a look at where the rebellion is and who is fighting back against the Empire" and was excited about the portrayal of the Empire in the series, writing, "Seeing these little missions and the feelings that the rebels have towards the Empire feels so perfectly align with what we know about Cassian that this trailer really just has us excited for what is to come with the series".

Footage from the second season was shown at Star Wars Celebration London in April 2023. A trailer for the second season was shown at the 2024 D23 Expo. The official teaser trailer for the second season was released on February 24, 2025.

Release

Streaming

Andor premiered on Disney+ on September 21, 2022, with the first three episodes being released. The rest of the 12-episode first season was released weekly, until November 23, 2022. The series previously was expected to debut in 2021, before production was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally set to premiere on August 31 with two episodes. In November 2022, Disney announced that the first two episodes of the first season would air on ABC on November 23, on FX on November 24, and Freeform on November 25, and be available on Hulu from November 23 through December 7. A similar move was to be also replicated across various countries in Europe, including Portugal, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands, with the first two episodes airing on Fox, on November 24 or 25, depending on the country.

The second season, also consisting of 12 episodes, was expected to be released in August 2024, but because of delays in production due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, it premiered on April 22, 2025, with three episodes released weekly until May 13.

Home media

The first season of Andor was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on April 30, 2024, with SteelBook packaging, concept art cards, and bonus features, including featurettes.

Andor: Season 1 had 59% of its sales come from the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version, which helped it secure the number one spot on the 4K chart. It also ranked third on the Blu-ray chart for the week ending May 4, 2024.

Reception

Viewership

Whip Media's TV Time, which tracks viewership data for the more than 25 million worldwide users, reported that Andor was the second most-anticipated new television series for September 2022. It was the third most-streamed original series in the U.S. for the week of October 16. It subsequently became the top original series every week from October 23 though November 27. JustWatch, a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 20 million users around the world, stated that Andor was the most-streamed series in the U.S. for the week of September 25. It remained in the top ten from November 7–20. The streaming aggregator Reelgood, which tracks real-time data from 5 million U.S. users for original and acquired content across SVOD and AVOD services, announced that Andor was the most-watched program for the week of September 28. It remained in the top ten from October 5 to November 11.

Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on certain U.S. television screens, estimated that the series was watched for 356 million minutes from October 3–9. It was subsequently watched for 418 million minutes from October 17–23, according to Nielsen. Streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol, which monitors daily updated VOD charts and streaming ratings across the globe, reported that Andor was the ninth most-streamed series on Disney+ in 2022. According to the file-sharing news website TorrentFreak, Andor was the tenth most-watched pirated television series of 2022. Andor generated over $300 million in global streaming subscriber revenue for Disney+ from its debut in September 2022 through the end of 2024. It surpassed the performance of other Star Wars live-action series like The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka.

Andor experienced lower viewership compared to other Star Wars series. Time attributed this to factors such as "franchise fatigue," insufficient fan service, competition from other fantasy and sci-fi shows, and the "lackluster Obi-Wan Kenobi" miniseries. MovieWeb noted that despite some initial reports suggesting lower demand, Andor still managed to perform well, with audience demand significantly higher than average streaming shows. Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, reported that Andor's audience demand was 34.1 times higher than that of the average TV show, with The Mandalorian close behind at 34 times the average demand, from October 15–21, 2022. Parrot Analytics later announced that Andor was the most in-demand United States breakout television series, referring to shows that have premiered in the past 100 days, from November 12–18, 2022. It had 37.7 times the average demand of all other series in the United States.

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 96% with an average rating of 8.45/10 based on 606 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A gritty adventure told from the ground perspective of the Empire's reign, Andor is an exceptionally mature and political entry into the Star Wars mythos – and one of the best yet." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 74 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Andor was considered one of the best TV series of 2022, and was praised for its differences from other Star Wars shows. NPR's Mandalit del Barco summarized that Andor was "being hailed as the most complex, mature story in Star Wars lore". In a four star review, Jack Seale of The Guardian called Andor "the best Star Wars show since The Mandalorian". Caroline Framke of Variety was positive towards Andor's departure from other Star Wars projects with a "story of people who have nothing to do with Solos, Skywalkers or Palpatines, but whose lives matter nonetheless". Similarly, Nicholas Quah of the Vulture called the show "a breath of fresh air" and praised the "utter confidence of its storytelling", "richness of its political ideas", score, production design and dialogue.

Simon Cardy of IGN praised the characters and character development, calling it "one of the very best things ever to come out of the Star Wars universe" in a 9 out of 10 review. The characterizations were criticized by Mike Hale of The New York Times, who considered them thin and unfulfilling.

Critics noted that the season emphasized the benign evils of bureaucracy with SlashFilm stating that, "The mundane Imperial Bureaucracy in Andor is the most chilling Star Wars villain yet," and Collider noting that Emperor Palpatine is not the greatest threat, but instead it is, "every middle management bureaucrat 'just following orders.'" Similarly, Salon noted that the show, "pierces that fantasy by placing a tight focus on the familiar bureaucracy monotony and drudgery that eventually leads to the destruction of planets." Los Angeles Times critics tied the themes back to contemporary politics stating, "modern authoritarian regimes have an elite cadre of college graduates and professionals doing all the real work of dictatorship behind the scenes. 'Andor' shows us the complicity machine propping up Palpatine, who never appears on camera, because he doesn’t need to."

Accolades

Andor was critically acclaimed and consistently ranked first in the top ten on numerous publications' "Best of 2022" lists for television series, including those of IGN, Polygon, USA Today, Vulture, and Empire. Numerous publications also considered Andor the best Star Wars television show and one of the best Star Wars productions ever. The first season was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. The second season was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.