Andor first impressions: Star Wars inches toward the best of modern adult TV
Enlarge / Diego Luna returns to the role of Cassian Andor in the newest Star Wars series on Disney+. (credit: Lucasfilm)
At its worst, Star Wars: Andor is a sanded-off PG-13 version of some of the best TV dramas of the past decade. It's easy to see traces of The Wire, Lost, and Breaking Bad in this story of Star Wars-adjacent scum and villainy. However, as you might suspect, such nuanced TV inspirations can only go so far in a franchise that regularly features chirping droids and action figure tie-ins.
At its best, though, Andor plays out like no other Star Wars film or TV entry to date, and it bodes well for the series' post-Skywalker future. Andor flexes its adult-ish aspirations to better resemble the gritty content that has made series sidebars like comics, novels, and video games beloved. While its momentum takes a little too long to kick in, enough quality coalesces by the end of the series' first 100 minutes to make it a worthy recommendation for fans of compelling sci-fi television, let alone Star Wars loyalists.
At Disney+, an initial release of three episodes says a lot
Trouble seems to find Cassian Andor a lot in his series. (credit: Lucasfilm)
This series "follows" the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story the only way Lucasfilm really could: by building a prequel out of its likable anti-hero, Cassian Andor. (Spoiler alert: If this series had been a direct timeline sequel to that film, it would, uh, include far fewer characters.) Since his name's in the title, Andor features as the star, and the events rewind to both his biggest adult and childhood adventures.