Warning! This article contains spoilers for Andor episode 9.Andor has focused heavily on the titular character's stint in prison, with one prevalent theory stating that Cassian and his fellow inmates are constructing Death Star components. After being wrongly accused by the Empire of being part of rebellious activities on Niamos, Cassian was then sent to Narkina 5, a planet housing multiple prison labor camps. Once there, Cassian was met by Kino Loy and his fellow inmates and began his seemingly endless labor. It is the outcome of this labor that has spawned numerous theories.
While the objects being created on Narkina 5 are seemingly unfamiliar, many Star Wars fans have theorized that the prisoners are helping to build components of the Death Star, which explains the extremely strict regime in place and is also backed up by recent comments from Kino Loy actor Andy Serkis (in his return to Star Wars) himself. In an interview with Jake's Takes, Serkis seemed to confirm that it will in fact be revealed that the components being built by the prisoners will have a purpose. While Serkis says he cannot answer the question directly, he states many fans have likely already figured out what the components being built are, and states that Andor's prisoners are building something that the Empire will use for nefarious purposes. It therefore seems likely that the Narkina 5 parts will go towards something with which audiences are already familiar, like the Death Star.
What Andor's Prisoners Are Making Is Important To Star Wars
Despite what the prisoners are building in Andor being portrayed as unimportant in terms of the actual end product, albeit important to the overall themes of the show, Andy Serkis' recent comments have lent credence to the theories surrounding the true nature of Narkina 5's labor camps. Thanks to Serkis' comments, it is now more likely that the manual labor in Andor will factor into the franchise as a whole, rather than just being used as a story device to breed rebellion within Narkina 5's prison as shown by Kino Loy's rebel twist in Andor episode 9. Given that Andor takes place in 5BBY, only five years before the Death Star becomes operational, it is even more likely that the theories are correct, and Cassian really is contributing to the construction of the Empire's planet killer.
What We Know About The Death Star's Construction During Andor's Timeline
As is known from Andor's sequel, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Death Star becomes operational in 0BBY with the destruction of Jedha. However, the Star Wars prequel trilogy established that the Emperor's plans for the Death Star stretch all the way back to 22BBY, with construction beginning in secret during the Clone Wars. The concept of the Death Star's construction has been covered aplenty in Star Wars' many media forms, including many books and Star Wars: Rebels that provide insight into the Death Star's status during Andor. As is known from Rebels and other books, the Death Star is in its final stages of construction during 5BBY. Star Wars: Rebels season 3, which takes place a few years after Andor season 1, provides mentions of both Project Stardust and Director Krennic, which refers to the Death Star's finalized construction. It is also known from wider Star Wars sources that the Death Star took 20 years to be built, meaning it is completed in 2BBY, three years after Andor, once again hinting that it is in its final stages of construction and explaining the prisoner's work.
What Andor's Prisoners Helping To Build The Death Star Would Mean
Should this Andor theory turn out to be true, it would provide a wealth of dramatic depth to Andor's arc specifically, especially in terms of the thematic elements of his character arc. The future of Andor's character, as known from Rogue One, is that Cassian dies on Scarif, killed by the Death Star itself. Not only that, but Cassian's death comes as a direct result of stealing the Death Star's plans in order for the Rebel Alliance to destroy it in A New Hope. Cassian helping to build the Death Star makes his death both more tragic and more rewarding because of this. It is more tragic as he will be killed by the very weapon he helped create, but is more rewarding due to Cassian being instrumental in stealing the plans that help the Death Star be destroyed for good. All of this will be achieved upon rewatch of Rogue One if Andor does indeed make it so that the prisoners are building the very weapon Cassian will give his life to destroy.
New episodes of Andor release every Wednesday on Disney+.