Andor, a new Disney+ series whose first season just ended, even exists raises the question, “Can a spin-off of a spin-off be good?” In this case, the work is based on Rogue One, which is set in the Star Wars universe but doesn’t have much to do with any of the main characters in the main saga, which raised many questions at the time.
In the end, that movie was one of the most praised works in that world, both by critics and fans, and even by some people who didn’t like Star Wars.
When Disney bought the Star Wars franchise, we didn’t expect much, but Rogue One is still one of the best action-adventure movies we’ve seen from a big studio in recent years. And one of the main reasons was that the play wasn’t afraid to kill off all of the main characters at the end of the tape, making it impossible for the story to go on.
Diego Luna’s character was one of the most interesting and complicated in Rogue One. This was a risky idea, and it could have failed in the wrong hands. However, the film’s screenwriter, Tony Gilroy, was brought on as creator and executive producer to make sure that the story of Andor, a character he imagined, was told in the best way possible.
Andor’s Humanity
And, according to Gilroy, the story of this character’s life doesn’t need to include direct Star Wars elements. We don’t see lightsabers, there aren’t dozens of references to other moments though there are some necessary nods that show up in Rogue One, and there aren’t even that many people from other planets which is due to a budget issue, as explained by the creator. What Remains is one of the best-made political dramas in recent years. In fact, George Lucas did a better job with politics in his six Star Wars movies than What Remains does, mainly in the prequels.
Gilroy, a veteran of political thrillers, seems to forget that this story takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. However, this lets him show a more solid, realistic, and – even more important – humane Universe, with real and constant ideas that are more relevant today than they were in the 1980s or at the turn of the century, when we first saw Lucas’s work.
On the other hand, that humanity lets him show characters with many different sides. There are no heroes in the traditional sense; instead, they are people with changing goals, secrets, manipulations, and pain, all of which affect a changing ideology. Andor’s journey is that of a man who just wants to live quietly, but who becomes a rebel by watching his world and how he treats people. Along the way, he meets different ideologies, some of which he rejects but some of which he accepts. Slowly, he comes up with his own, which is neither completely good nor completely bad.
Star Wars, one of the best fantasy and action movies
Of course, we don’t forget works like The Empire Strikes Back from the George Lucas era which, by the way, wasn’t directed by him but by Irvin Kersher, which showed us how Luke Skywalker’s ideas changed over time and ended in a sad way. It’s still one of the best fantasy and action movies ever made, and it’s what made the franchise what it is today.
Andor also gives the Empire a clear force by showing that, despite its flaws, it is a huge organization with dedicated members who are willing to make its impact even stronger. These members, in turn, come up with their own ideas that go beyond “follow the Empire.” Your path is set by personal reasons and who you are as a person. But none of this would be interesting without the screen performances, which show how real people are even when they are in sci-fi settings, with animated characters, or wearing a lot of makeup.
James Gunn, who just took over as creative leader at DC, said a while ago that directors and writers working on a franchise should focus on making a good product and not so much on preparing or connecting stories for the future. It’s not about the long-term game; it’s about making a movie or series that is good, strong, and has an effect on the audience. That was done with Rogue One and now with Andor. Now we’ll see if Disney sticks to this philosophy for the rest of its movies.
