Appropriately enough for a franchise called Star Wars, Disney's massive science-fantasy epic is embroiled in constant conflict. The studio and the fans have plenty to disagree about, but the real gap transcends that dichotomy. Instead, those who want Star Wars to innovate, grow, and explore new corners of its endless galaxy must constantly oppose those who want the franchise to play the hits, repeat old routines, and circle the drain until the end of time. Andor was a masterpiece of the former that grew out of an example of the latter, but bringing the two together might produce odd results.
The very idea of a franchise is becoming increasingly untenable. Fans fall in love with a piece of media, only to experience a dozen other works that have almost nothing to do with it. There's no longer any reason to believe a viewer who enjoyed one Disney+ Star Wars series might enjoy the next one. As a result, every fan has a slightly different experience these days. Andor was an intensely divisive project, but one of the most important elements of the series was the surprise it offered to fans who got in early.
Star Wars: What Andor's Success Means For The Franchise's Future
The latest Star Wars series should be a massive sea change for the franchise if Disney can take the lessons it has to teach.
Andor Was A Spin-Off of a Prequel
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Creator |
Tony Gilroy |
|---|---|
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Stars |
Diego Luna, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, Fiona Shaw, Genevieve O'Reilly |
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Episodes |
12 |
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Release Date |
September 21, 2022 |
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Streaming On |
Disney+ |
Star Wars shares space on Disney+ with the brand's other megafranchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The two empires have a lot in common, but one of their key shared elements is continuity. Of course, any ongoing franchise tends to have some sort of shared narrative, but the Disney franchises tend to sell themselves on that ever-expanding idea. Star Wars has the power to consistently set its stories in new corners of the galaxy, constantly growing and exploring endless new permutations of its broad concepts. Disney doesn't often use that power because the more experimental outings tend to fall short of their financial expectations. As a result, Star Wars tends to stick to the old stuff, keeping the universe small.
It's easy to look at a project like The Marvels, a sequel that stars characters from two semi-related TV shows and centers on events from a third, and bemoan the amount of time one would have to commit to understanding the new movie. By that same token, Andor seemed like a terrible pitch for a Star Wars show. It's not a bold story about a new character like The Mandalorian or The Acolyte. It's not a new chapter in a beloved figure's story like Obi-Wan or Ahsoka. Instead, it's an origin story for a character that almost no one cared about from a movie that mostly sold itself on callbacks. People wrote Andor off before its first episode, which is part of the reason that the first episode made such an impact.
Andor Season One Shocked Fans
The fact that there's a show in the Star Wars universe that opens with its noble hero gunning down a cop and spends a lot of time following his attempts to escape arrest is still stunning. The fact that a show that daring is a prequel to Rogue One is enough to completely alter one's understanding of franchise media. Those who jumped in early enjoyed a stunning sci-fi drama series that provided completely unique perspectives on a beloved galaxy. While the show never attained overwhelmingly positive viewership numbers, most of its growth came from pure positive word of mouth. Critics and viewers raved about the series to anyone who would listen, guaranteeing a steady stream of excited viewers to this day as the second season prepares to launch. People expected more of the same, but they got something transcendent. That experience doesn't come around often, and every link back to the dodgy material that introduced Cassian Andor threatens to harm it.
Rogue One is a Blessing and a Curse
As countless fans and critics pointed out, Rogue One is a very expensive Star Wars fan film. It fixates on fan service at the cost of narrative growth, character development, and compelling new narrative. This expectation is part of what allowed Andor to explode like it did, but it's also a shackle that could trap the series in less compelling subject matter. There wasn't much to Rogue One, a movie that mostly exists to point and ask, "Remember A New Hope?" Referencing Rogue One is like listening to someone recount the novelization of a beloved film. It's a familiar story through two rounds of Telephone. Andor might be able to elevate the forgotten characters and dodgy narrative of Rogue One, but it could just as easily get dragged down by that film's commitment to pitiful navel-gazing.
Rogue One introduces a handful of original characters, one of whom became the star of Andor. Another, Saw Gerrera, became a supporting character in that series. Andor handled both its namesake and Gerrera far better than Rogue One ever could, but every returning name is another opportunity to drown the show in the same issues that bury its franchise mates. The natural state of current Star Wars is collapsing in on itself. Andor didn't make all the money in the world, leaving it somewhat shocking as a candidate for a second season. Disney will be looking for opportunities to ruin it with more stuff people remember and less revolutionary innovation, leaving every callback to Rogue One as a potential threat.